Out for Blood
by AnnaRambam
Summary: Isana Fayait is not your typical aspiring writer. Her and her brother Laurent are French citizens and, being against the war,begin sheltering Jews. Until one visit from a certain Colonel ruins everything.It leaves her with the want for blood.A mixture of terror and fearful events lead her to the Basterds and inevitably to what she needed all along.
1. Chapter 1

The moon was out and there was no noise besides the shallow breathing of my brother Laurent as he loaded his machine gun. When he saw that I was awake, he took another rifle from his trusty pack and handed it to me.

"Ils viennent Isana. Tu sais quoi faire, comme on a pratiquer." (They're coming, Isana. You know what to do, like we practiced.)

I stared up at his face, a face that I knew I might never see again. He had the same blonde hair and green eyes that I did. We were not Jews; we were what seemed to be the only French people with morals. We simply believed in a cause and that was it. Long before the war struck France, we had heard the rants of the Fuhrer. We had listened to his speeches of hate and discrimination and we strongly disapproved. How a whole country could follow orders from one monster was beyond us. From then on, Jews went into hiding in France or they were killed. That is where Laurent and I came in. No matter the danger, no matter how many Jewish people needed a place to stay we would offer them refuge. When there were inspections done by the Nazis, we would tell them to hide below the floorboards and to not make a sound. I had already learned as many languages as I could in order to comprehend them and to get them whatever they needed. Laurent worked as a librarian and brought home the provisions because whenever I would go into town, I'd merely be asked the same question "Why doesn't a girl of your age have a husband yet?" Besides being an excellent brother and a fantastic human being, he was a great marksman. Our father, despite being a professor, had spent time in the army. Before his passing, he had taught him how to care for his weapon and how to use it. Laurent taught me how to shoot quite a few times but I was never as good as him. His shots were precise and clean. Mine were precise but very messy. For a few months, we were able to give at least a little hope to the Jewish people who occupied our home. We were able to make them believe that there was still good people out there. Until that one day, when everything changed due to the arrival of an intimidating Colonel.


	2. Chapter 2

That day, I remember teaching the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Toureaux how to make a simple braid when Laurent came into the house in haste.

"J'ai entendu un moteur! Natalie, Adel, va cachez avec vos parents. Allez, allez!" ( I head an engine! Natalie, Adel, go hide with your parents. Go go!)

I opened up the floorboards and watched the girls slide beneath them while adjusting the bow of my dress. Laurent had removed everything that showed any presence of the Toureaux's and put on his reading glasses. By the time the vehicle pulled up to the house, my brother was outside to greet it.

I stood by the kitchen's basin peeling potatoes and heard the sound of a door slam followed by heavy boots hitting the ground. My heart began to race when I heard someone address my brother.

"Bonne après-midi, monsieur Fayait! Vous etes bien Laurent Fayait, oui? Bibliotecaire, frère a une Isana Fayait?" (Good afternoon, Mr. Fayait! You are Laurent Fayait are you not? Librarian, brother to an Isana Fayait?"

For the very first time in my twenty years of living, I heard my brother stutter.

"Ou-oui Monsieur, je suis Laurent Fayait. Est-ce que il y a quelque-chose que je peux vous aider avec?" (Ye-yes sir, I am Laurent Fayait. Is there anything I could help you with?)

"Oh non pas trop, j'aimerai seulement prendre un peu de votre temps pour vous demander quelque questions, c'est tout! Alors, si vous me le permettez…" (Oh not really, I'd just like to take a little of your time to ask you a few questions, that's all! So, if you permit me…)

I could practically feel my brother's throat dry up.

"Mais bien sur, suivez moi Monsieur…?" (But of course, follow me Mr…?)

"Colonel Hans Landa"

An arrow of fear immediately struck me in the shoulder blades. It was Landa or as they liked to call him, the Jew Hunter. No wonder my brother sounded so petrified. My eyes trailed to the floorboards and I began praying to any god that would listen for the Toureaux's safety. Laurent came into our home followed by the Colonel and I realized that the he did not look like the monster the people described him as. Then again, looks could be deceiving. His glare went from the back of my brother's head to my face in a second and a sickening smile spread across his face.

"Ah et vous devez etre Isana. Que votre beaute me fascine!"(Ah, you must be Isana. Your beauty is quite fascinating!)

"Merci" (Thank you)

I looked back at the potatoes that I was peeling and stayed silent. I felt his eyes on me and I did not like the way they watched.

"Colonel, on peut discutez ici si vous voulez." (Colonel, we could discuss here if you like.)

My brother gestured to the little table that we had placed in the middle of the room. When both men were seated, I was done peeling the potatoes and merely stood and watched them.

"Aimerez vous quelque-chose a boire Colonel?" (Colonel, would you like something to drink?)

"J'adorerai quelque-chose a boire!" (I would love something to drink!)

I filled a glass with cool milk and handed it to him. I watched him chug it down and waited. He handed the glass back to me and smiled then cleared his throat.

"Laurent, si vous pouvez demander a votre soeur de quitter la salle, on pourra commencer." Laurent, if you could ask your sister to leave the room, we could start.)

My frightened brother looked at me and nodded. I nodded back and left the potatoes on the counter, wiping my hands on my grey dress as I walked out of the door.


	3. Chapter 3

I looked at the truck that the Jew Hunter came in and watched the man in the passenger's seat. The Colonel came light. By the time I finished removing all of the clothing from the clothesline, Laurent and the Colonel came outside.

"Bon, merci beaucoup de votre collaboration Monsieur Fayait. Je te souhaite une bonne après-midi!" (Well, thank you very much for your collaboration Mr. Fayait. I hope you have a good afternoon.)

He turned his glare to me.

"Aurevoir Isana." (Goodbye Isana)

Something about the way he said goodbye made me uneasy. I walked over to Laurent and held his hand until the car disappeared. His hands were shaking and gripping mine with such intensity that only proved one thing: He had been threatened.

"Il faut qu'on sort les Toureaux. Il faut qu'ils part vite. VITE Isa." (We need to get the Toureaux's out of here. They need to leave quickly. HURRY Isa.)

I put my arms around the waist of the twenty-four year old and hugged him. I had never seen my brother like this and I couldn't think of anything else to do that would help. Laurent squeezed my shoulder and leaned his forehead against mine.

"Sa va aller Laurent, ils ont parti. Sa va." (Everything is going to be alright, they're gone. It's okay.)

"Non, Isa. Sa va pas bien aller. Ils vont retourner avec plus de soldats. Si on est pas tuer ce soir, on sera mort a l'aube" (No Isa, it won't be alright. They are going to come back with more soldiers and if we are not killed tonight, we will be dead by dawn.)

I pulled my head away from his for a moment and studied his face. He couldn't have said anything, he would never. Either way, my heart was already beginning to hurt when I thought about the possibility of them killing the Toureaux family, especially Natalie and Adel. I'd grown to love those little girls.

"Laurent, qu'est ce que tu lui a dit?" (Laurent, what did you tell him?)

"RIEN. C'etait ca la problem! Mais surement, je lui ai pas dit ce qu'il voulait entendre!" (NOTHING, that was the problem! I surely didn't tell him anything he wanted to hear.)

"Alors pourquoi tu crois qu'il reviendra s'il n'a pas les informations qu' il voulait?" (So why do you think he'll come back if he doesn't have the information that he wanted?)

My brother tensed up and looked square into my eyes. There was a tear falling down his cheek.

"Parce que ses yeux me l'a dit." (Because his eyes told me)

With that, I kissed both of his cheeks and held him. We both knew what would happen but didn't want to think about it. We were all we had left and much too young to take it on our own.


	4. Chapter 4

"_Isana, m'ecoutes tu? Ils sont la, est tu pretes?" _(Isana are you listening to me? They're there, are you ready?)

Laurent looked at his sister's face and no matter how much she nodded, he knew she wasn't ready. He knew because he wasn't even ready. Whether he liked it or not, this situation was not going to turn out well. He couldn't let Isana know because he had to be strong enough for both of them. Therefore, he lied. This whole thing was his fault. It was his idea to use their home as a safe house for Jews not to mention he broke under pressure and let the Colonel manipulate him with the only thing that mattered to him: His sister. That specific part of the conversation with the Jew Hunter echoed among his thoughts as he continuously polished his gun.

"You know Laurent, your sister is of age to be married, what is stopping you from finding her a suitor?"

Laurent's English was a little rusty and his voice seemed to disappear along with Isana, so he merely raised his shoulder.

"Work."

"Ah, of course. At the library right? I was allowed the privilege to speak to a few people who worked closely with you and well, it seems that you are a very dedicated boy."

"That is very kind of them to say."

"They also said that you are quite the helpful boy."

Laurent's heart started to beat quicker and he adjusted the way he sat to try and seem casual.

"That is right."

"You would not be helping any specific people , say, Jews for example?"

"I am not, Colonel."

The man with the small looking face smiled wide and let out a small chuckle.

"Are you sure young man?"

"Yes."

Hans Landa stared at the young man, searching for any show of hesitation. Laurent stared right back without blinking. Finally, the tension broke as the Colonel began to chuckle.

"That's good! I guess we're done here! You know, I'm happy that you are not hiding any Jews because I would fear what would have happened to you and your lovely sister."

"Prison, death. I am well aware of that."

"Oh for you maybe but for your sister…German soldiers can be quiet rough when it comes to women."

Laurent cleared his throat and ran his hands through his blonde hair praying that this man before him would not go further into his description.

"I am aware of that as well."

"Are you sure you are? Are you sure you understand that if I find a shred of evidence that you are protecting any Jewish people, the Toureaux's to be exact, not only affects you but her?"

The young man took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. His green eyes met Landa's with uneasy tension. The Colonel took that to his advantage and continued.

"She will not only have to watch you die, but she will be violated again and again until all the men have had their fill. She is quite beautiful after all and she may just be passed from unit to unit. Screaming your name to come and save her but you will not be able to because you'll be compost."

The Jew Hunter leaned forward and put on a calm face.

"All you need to do is tell me the truth. Are you hiding the Toureaux's?"

The anger harbored within Laurent pushed him to stand up abruptly and tower over Hans Landa.

"I told you, I am not hiding any Jews. If any come by though, I will be sure to stop them. I am pretty sure I am armed enough to take on a brigade_." That's right you German scum_, he thought.

Laurent paused and watched the Colonel closely.

"Now, if you have any other questions Colonel that I can gladly answer, I believe we are done here. Non?"

Their stares were locked in an intense battle of chicken and not one of them attempted to even blink. Finally, Landa smiled a smile so sweet it would make the teeth drop out of anyone's mouth and got up while putting on his hat.

"I believe that's all Mr. Fayait."


	5. Chapter 5

The Toureaux's had left only an hour after the visit of Colonel Hans Landa and begged the Fayait's to follow them. The brother and sister merely refused because running away was not what they were raised to do. Deep into their own thoughts, the Fayait's set towards their plans as the sound of a large truck started to get louder as it approached their house. The siblings merely looked at each other when they heard the truck door slam. At least a dozen men had come. Laurent looked away from his gun and stared into Isa's eyes. He placed a kiss on her forehead and smiled.

"_Vise bien ma belle, je t'aime."_ (Aim well sweetheart, I love you.)

Not even a moment later, the German soldiers had surrounded the house and the front door was kicked in. Laurent snuck out from their hiding spot in the pantry and positioned himself beside the door, pointing his gun up at the four soldiers who had made their way into his house. Isana sat uneasily in the pantry waiting for what would happen. Then, it all came in a blur. Laurent kicked the door closed and let loose his bullets on the men. The other soldiers expected their fellow comrades to return triumphant but all they heard was silence. Four more men decided to enter the house and four more men were killed. Without even waiting to hear from the other soldiers, the last four men began to fire at the house. To avoid getting hit, Laurent went back into the pantry. His black hunting coat had been splattered with blood and his hair had been tainted with it. Bullets were flying through the house as both siblings sat there breathing heavily. It was only a matter of time before they ran out of bullets and when that happened Isana had a plan ready.

"_Haut et bas?"_ (Up and down?)

Laurent looked at her and nodded in approval.

"_Haut et bas."_ (Up and down.)

At those words they switched guns and Isana crept quickly out from the pantry, opened the floorboards and went beneath them as her brother remained in the pantry and listened for the ceasefire. She quickly positioned herself in front of the small opening she had made for the Toureaux's in case they needed to escape. Luckily that opening was right where the soldiers were. Laurent crawled beside the window and waited despite the flying bullets. Isana watched the soldiers empty their bullets into the side of the house and propped the machine gun up against her shoulder. When the men stopped to reload their guns, she let her bullets fly. She hit three of the men in their legs while Laurent shot the last one in the chest. At the very same time, the brother and sister smiled.

"_Laurent, sa va?"_ (Laurent, are you okay?)

"_Sa va Isa."_ (I'm okay Isa.)

Just as they were recovering from the fight in the pantry, they heard the sounds of another engine. Laurent ran across the room and looked out of the window. Two SS vehicles were approaching quickly and were full of at least twenty men. It looked as though Landa had taken Laurent's words to heart. He was right; they would be dead by dawn. Laurent didn't have much time by the looks of it, but he took his nap sack and thrust it into his sister's arms. He might die, but that didn't mean she had to. Tears were gathering in his sister's eyes as he took off his coat and enveloped her in it. She knew this may happen but she prayed that they may still have a chance.

"_Isa, il faut que tu cours. Trouve la foret et cache-toi bien, tu m'entends?"_ (Isa, you have to run. Find the forest and hide yourself well, you hear me?)

Isana shook her head vigorously and grabbed onto her brothers shoulder.

"_Non, non! Je pars pas, pas sans toi."_ (No, no! I'm not leaving without you.)

He gave his sister one last hug and kissed both of her cheeks quickly so she wouldn't feel the tears that were already streaming down his face.

"_Je te donne pas le choix. Je t'aime."_ (I'm not giving you a choice, I love you.)

Without waiting for her to reply, Laurent pushed his sister into the hole beneath the floorboards and covered it up. His sister's cries filled his ears as he stood on top of the opening, arming himself calmly and knowing very well that he had no more than eight rounds left. He remembered how his father always used to tell him to be a better big brother and to more than anything, make sure Isana was happy and that she was safe. He was proud that he was doing nothing but that.

"_J'espere que tu est aussi fiere de moi que je le suis, papa."_ (I hope you're as proud of me as I am of myself, daddy.)

Laurent heard the soldiers approach the house and as soon as the door was opened again, he began to shoot.


	6. Chapter 6

Heya!

So, just to warn everyone, I do NOT speak German so I used Google translate. If some things might be inaccurate, please remember that I don't speak anything but French and English and feel free to correct! Also, this chapter will be rather short.

–Anna.

After hearing the sound of my brother's gun jamming, I pushed the floor board with all of the strength I had but he was much too heavy. My heart began to pound and I started to hyperventilate. I heard heavy footsteps come closer to the house and my brother gasped as he was shot repeatedly. I shrank down to the dirt as a soundless scream left my mouth and Laurent's body fell above me.

"Was ein bisschen Scheiße." (What a little shit.)

I heard one of the soldiers spit and felt them kick at his body as they collected their dead. Another one made a dry cackle that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. As the soldiers ransacked what remained of my home, I began to feel something wet on the back of my neck. I looked up to see that what was dripping on my neck was blood. The blood of my brother was seeping through the floor boards and leaking onto me. It took every inch of control that I had to not yell or make a noise; instead, I merely let the tears fall as my head was coated in blood. I waited till I could no longer hear the sound of any engine to finally let out a shriek. I pushed myself through the opening and walked calmly into my house where I found my brother. His body had been mutilated yet the only place on his body that was untouched was his face. His eyes were open and the expression he was wearing was not fear but it looked as though his death was quick. His blonde hair was now a dark brown. I knelt beside him and slowly shut his eyelids. Looking at his body, I felt three mixtures of emotions at once: Depressed because of the death of the only person I kept close, anger towards the Nazis and useless because I couldn't do anything to stop it. I began remembering every pleasant moment we had in this very same home as I held his head on my lap and cradled his face in my hands. I couldn't speak. All I could do was scream until I felt I could no longer breathe. Covered in his blood, I stayed by his side until I began to see the first rays of the sun. I had to leave before it got any brighter out so I gave my brother one last kiss on his cheeks. I wanted blood and the only kind I wanted was Nazi.

"Aurevoir Laurent, je penserai toujours a toi mon frère. Ils vont le payes. Ils vont tous le payer cher.." (Goodbye Laurent, I'll always think of you brother. They're going to pay; they're all going to pay dearly.)


	7. Chapter 7

Heya!

So in this scene, there is a little more insight into her background and how her and her brother came to be where they were. Feel free to review!

-Anna

It had been over a few weeks since I retreated to the forest after my brother's murder and I was slowly losing what was left of my mind. I had not slept nor did I spend more than a few seconds to fully wash my body of Laurent's blood whenever I came across a stream. My brother had packed a loaf of bread, rope, bandages and a knife that I often held between my fingers within the hunting jacket. After the first two weeks, the bread was gone and I began to hunt for food. I felt that a fire would be too risky, so at times I ate my meat raw. The night after I fed myself on a squirrel, I fell sick. I awoke with the need to vomit and mild illusions played in my mind. From then on, I simply did not eat at all. I found myself going deeper and deeper into the forest after that which in a way helped me be rid of the hallucinations and the sickness but it instead brought on a fever.

For the first time in a long time, I took a break beside a tree and held my head in my hands. I began to think of my life before the war, before my father died. We lived in a much larger home and money was no issue since my father was a professor. If all would have gone as planned, I would be married and a mother by now. The wedding would have probably taken place in the garden behind the house and the guest list would have been long. I would be living in one of the most beautiful houses in France, surrounded by the cheerful laughter of children and all the happiness I could possibly want. But I hated that. I remember those nights in fathers' study, when I would tell him over and over again that living a life of a quiet wife was the worse lifestyle I could imagine. I wanted to write and that was all I wanted to do. I wanted to become a great author who expressed her very own opinions and not those of her husbands. Father would not have it. He was a complicated man, but a good man. When he died, Laurent and I felt as much grief as a person could feel but there was still the question to who would inherit the Fayait fortune. I believed Laurent would get it because after all he was the oldest and the only boy but father had left the money to me and the house to my brother. I tried to relinquish everything to Laurent at first, yet he would not hear it. He accepted our fathers wish in such a calm manner that it surprised me.

Before I could even think of what to do with the money, there was a requirement. My father had put in the will that I would receive the money only if I were to marry. The old man had a trick up his sleeve even in his grave. Laurent knew my discomfort towards marriage and did not judge me. We lived without speaking of it until we began to go into debt. I told Laurent that I would marry some man, any man, if it meant we had security. He locked his green eyes with mine behind his reading glasses.

"Ont sait tout les deux que c'est pas la vie que tu veux." (We both know that's not the life you want.)

"Mais Laurent on est en trouble! Je t'en supplie-" (But we're in trouble Laurent! I beg you-)

"J'ai dit NON. Tu ne seras pas heureuse et essaies pas de me mentir." (I said no! You wouldn't be happy and don't you try and lie to me.)

His calm voice for the first time frightened me as it boomed in the study. He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose before speaking.

"Ecoutes, je ne sais pas qu'est-ce qu'on fera mais, je refuse que tu t'utilise comme sauveteur seulement parce qu'on est dans l'eau a nos genoux. Ont a just a partir c'est tout." (Listen, I don't know what we're going to do but I refuse for you to use yourself as a raft when we're only in knee deep water. We'll just have to leave that's all.)

I couldn't believe someone so selfless existed and from then on, I saw my brother in a completely different light. He was my savior and the only person I could trust. He never mentioned marriage even when all we had to eat for three months were potatoes. He sold the house and he got employed and provided for both of us, never taking for granted anyone or anything. In a way, all he wanted to do was help people and he helped me more than he would ever know.

I opened my eyes and inhaled deeply. I smelt old blood and vomit on my skin and finally decided to find a stream. Luckily, there was one only a few minutes away. I took off my ripped and dirty dress and went in it gratefully. The water was probably one of the greatest things my skin had felt in years. I washed the blood off of my skin and let my head go under so I could finally rinse the blood out of my hair. I got out of the water refreshed yet the fever still remained. As I was buttoning up Laurent's jacket, I heard a twig break. I quickly turned around and saw that I was faced by three SS soldiers. Staring at them made me dirty all over again.


	8. Chapter 8

Heya!

There's more German in this one, so again just wanted to mention, I don't speak it. So there may be some terrible wording for Google translate. If you do speak German though, awesome!

-Anna

"Gut, schauen Sie, was wir hier haben" (Well, look what we have here.)

I tried not to flinch when the German soldiers came closer with their rifles pointed directly at my face. One of them took my bag from my shoulders and began to look through it while the other placed shackles around my wrists.

"Wie ist dein Name fraulein?" (What is your name miss?)

I decided not to unveil that I knew how to speak German so I kept my mouth shut. I let my arms dangle in front of me and looked down, knowing very well that I couldn't do much damage with indisposed hands to three soldiers with guns but boy how I wanted to.

"Hörst du mich? Wie ist Ihr Name?"(Can you hear me? What is your name?)

When I did not answer once again, the soldier stepped forward and was going to hit me until one of the other soldiers intervened.

"Sie spricht kein Deutsch, Ludwig! Sie ist wahrscheinlich eine Französisch zivilen. Wir sollten zurück zu bekommen, wird der Sergent nicht erwarten, dass wir uns sehr lange dauern." (She does not speak German, Ludwig! She is probably a French civilian. We should get back; the sergeant will not expect us to take this long.)

"Rühr mich nicht an Butz. Holen Sie sich zurück zum Truck. Beide von Ihnen." (Do not touch me Butz. Get back to the truck, both of you.)

Both men left, carrying my bag with them which meant that there must have been some type of road nearby. The man known as Ludwig waited until both of soldiers were out of view to backhand me, sending me to the ground. I instantly knew what was going to happen. I could taste blood in my mouth as I tried to crawl away only to have Ludwig pull my leg. I flexed my wrists a few times to see if I really could, perhaps at an angle, free my hands. The soldier pulled my hands above my head and stared at me greedily, I felt sicker than when I ate the squirrel.

"Sie können eine nutzlose Bauer sein, aber Sie sind ein ziemlich ein." (You may be a useless peasant, but you are a pretty one.)

I yelled and kicked and soon my face began to heat up which only meant that tears were on their way. My insides began to churn when he pulled the jacket from me and pulled up the bottom of my dress. His fingers grazed my thigh and he eagerly began to undo his trousers. Just as he was on about to have his way, shots were fired and screams were heard from somewhere nearby. Ludwig turned around to see what was happening and, taking advantage of the situation, I pulled up my leg and kicked the side of his head. He flew to the ground and I ran as fast as I could for the simple reason that if I didn't, I would be shot in the back. The shooting ceased but I kept running. I looked back to see if I was being followed and was more than happy to see that I wasn't. When turned my head back, I saw the butt of a gun and before I realized why it was there I had been knocked out.


	9. Chapter 9

A strange laughter followed by chants made me regain consciousness. The first thing I saw was the sky surrounded by trees. Slowly picking myself up from the ground, I noticed that I didn't only have shackles on my wrists but I my feet had been tied together with rope as well. My head ached uncontrollably and hearing the chants get louder, I decided that those must be my captors. The Germans had finally caught me and in any minute they would probably kill me. I sighed and instead of waiting for them to come to me, I would find a way to evade them as much as I could. I used my hands to push myself to my feet and used my teeth and a nearby twig to remove the rope. I was about to run until I actually listened to the chants for a moment. They weren't German or French, they were English. My curiosity was picked and instead of getting away from them, I went towards it. There was a strange path that seemed already there so I followed it and finally found the source of the noise. Butz, Ludwig and an SS Sergeant were being held at gun point and an army of men were nearby. From the looks of it, they were the only ones left from their group. I found a good place to watch them and listened closely as one man with a hat talked to the sergeant. He had a horrid accent, but it was still English. Suddenly two loud clangs were heard and the sergeant looked up. The man took off his hat and spoke calmly.

"You hear that?"

"Yes."

"Sergeant Donny Donowitz, you know him better by his nickname: The Bear Jew. Now if you heard of Aldo the Apache you gotta have heard about the Bear Jew."

My heart stopped. Aldo the Apache? The Bear Jew? Those men who were peeling scalps from German bodies must have been The Basterds! Laurent had spoken about them. Back then they were only rumors but to actually see that they were real was incredible. I took a few steps forward and went into a small tunnel that allowed me to get a much closer view to the man I believed was Aldo himself.

"He bashes their brains in with a baseball bat's what he does. Now, Werner, I'm gonna ask you one more goddamn time, and if you still "respectfully refuse," I'm callin' the Bear Jew over here, he's gonna take that big-ole bat of his, and he's gonna beat your ass to death with it. Now take your wiener schnitzel lickin' finger and point out on this map what I want to know."

The SS sergeant paused for a moment and I was just hoping, no praying for him to say something stupid.

"Fuck you, AND YOUR JEW DOGS."

I shook my head with a grin; this was going to definitely be worth seeing. The men laughed and I suspected that they were thinking the very same thing. Aldo folded up the map and smiled.

"Actually Werner, we're tickled to hear ya say that. Quite frankly, watchin' Donny beat Nazis to death is the closest we ever get to goin' to the movies. HEY DONNY!"

Someone from a tunnel beside me yelled back.

"YEAH?"

"Got us a German who wants to die for s'country. Oblige him."

Suddenly more clangs were heard and strangely, as they got louder the sergeant looked more at ease which was the complete opposite to what his men were feeling. They looked as if they were going to cry for their mothers instantly. My own heart was beating at the pace of a snare drum and my grin turned into a strange smile. The Basterds began cheering and, moving closer to the edge, I finally saw him. He was much bigger than I expected him to be and he was full of muscle and dark hair which made him seem exactly like his title. I found myself staring in awe. The Bear Jew walked confidently over to his victim and nudged one of his medals with his bat.

"You get that for killing Jews?"

The German looked right up at him.

"Bravery"

He brought the bat up to his head and tilted as if sizing the man up. Then he swung…and swung, and swung. The amount of blood and brains that went flying was almost too overwhelming but I was not going to let it ruin me. I wanted to laugh and cheer along with the rest of the men. I imagined Ludwig going up next and watching him piss himself as soon as the bat was pointed in his direction.

"Teddy fuckin' Williams knocks it out of the park! Fenway Park on its feet for Teddy! Fuckin' ballgame! He went yardo on that one, on to fuckin' Lansdowne Street!"

Donowitz started jumping around with all the excitement and finally pointed to Ludwig.

"YOU!"

Apparently Ludwig was more of a coward than I thought he was because he attempted to flee which made the man behind him only happier to shoot him. Aldo groaned and he put a piece of bread in his mouth.

"Damn it, Hirschberg! Donny, bring that other one over here. ALIVE!"

The last soldier alive was Butz which only made me wonder where my bag was at that moment. I was even wondering where my jacket was. I spotted a German body near the edge of my tunnel and used it as a cover because I would have hated for that bat to have been used on me if I were to be seen. A basterd was sitting quite nearby so I lowered my breathing.

"English?"

"Nein"

"Wicki"

Aldo made a gesture and the man near me went beside him. He unfolded the map and put it before Butz. He had told them everything and I understood him perfectly without the need for Wicki's translation though I smiled as he slightly grinned when translating for the Apache. He must have been German because his accent was perfect, much better than what I could achieve. He was covered in sweat and dirt, hell they all were, but he somehow had made it look appealing. He looked ruggedly handsome. When they were finished with him, Aldo said the same thing my brother used to say when he told me the ending of a Basterds story.

"So I'm gonna give you a little somethin' you can't take off."

Strangely, that was when I had to turn away. I could stomach the Bear Jew, but I could not stomach the famous Nazis branding. I felt as though I was going to vomit again but there was nothing in my stomach to begin with so all I did was dry heave. As The Bear Jew and Aldo sent Butz off, I tried to back up a little by using the body for some type of leverage when I accidentally pushed it and it started rolling down the hill. In an instant, I heard guns cock and knew very well that they were pointed in my direction. I waited for a bullet but felt nothing but air and heard only my own gasp. If they were as terrible as the Germans, they would have already shot. It finally hit me that these men were much more than my brother described them as. They were decent, driven men and if I had to choose between them and the Germans, the choice was obvious.

"DON'T SHOOT, DON'T SHOOT!"

I got up and slowly walked out of the tunnel, my wrists first. Surely if they saw that I was shackled, they would understand. My legs were shaking as I walked from the tunnel and stood right near the exit. I felt more glares on me than I could actually see. I looked up and saw men standing over head. One's eyelids looked as if they were closed and I could barely see his eyes but I saw the brightness and could practically feel the coldness in his glare. It was the coldest pair of eyes that I had ever seen. I also noticed that he was wearing Laurent's hunting jacket. I could recognize the stitching in a heartbeat. I dared not even say anything and instead looked towards the Apache. Aldo looked at me and within an instant directly at a younger looking man and crossed his arms.

"Utivich! What the hell is this?"

The man kind of hesitated and shrugged his shoulders, pointing the end of his gun to the man above with the icy glare. The man sighed and shook his head.

Aldo raised an eyebrow and looked towards .

"Well Stiglitz, have somethin' to tell me?"

"We found her with the Germans."

Before I could retort something, Aldo had done it for me.

"Did you now?"

"That is one hell of a shiner she has on her head."

Donny held his bat over his shoulders and stared along with everyone else. I began to feel the tension drop as everyone else lowered their gun but I was mostly occupied with the worry of how bad my wound looked.

"She was running?"

Aldo sighed and looked towards me.

"Come here."

Without hesitation I walked down the hill and towards him with surefooted steps. I kept my hands together and tried not to shake. When I got closer, I saw a scar around his neck. Surprisingly, I had not heard of the scar even though it was quite impossible to miss.

"What's your name?"

"Isana. Isana Fayait."

"Why were you with them Germans, Isana?"

I shook my head immediately.

"I was not with them, I was running from them. I have been running from them for weeks."

"Why, you Jewish?"

"No, French."

"Speak good English for a Frenchie. Why're you running then?"

"The Germans found out about my brother and me hiding Jews."

"Well, ain't that a believable story."

It didn't take the most sarcastic person in the world to detect the sarcasm. I looked Aldo in the eyes and tilted my head.

"It is true. If you do not believe me, have that one up there in the black hunting coat check the embroidery on the collar. It will say Laurent Fayait."

The leader of the Basterds studied me for a while and looked towards the man known as Stiglitz.

"Stiglitz, toss me that jacket."

The jacket slowly made its way from soldier to soldier before it finally reached Aldo. He took a look at it and nodded before putting it into my hands. I held it to my chest tightly and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Thank you."

"Don't you thank me just yet. Wicki, see if you can look after that shiner of hers and take off those damn cuffs. Then have her come see me."

He inclined his head a little and lowered his voice.

"You and me're gonna have a talk."


	10. Chapter 10

Hello! So, just going to tell you, there's more German! But I hope you all enjoy this one!

-Anna

"Let's fix this."

Wicki was sitting before me and staring at my bruise. I honestly had not felt it at all and insisted I was fine, but well, there was no winning with the basterd. I rubbed my wrists and was happy that they were chain free. He pulled out a small kit out of his bag and took a bottle. It must have been some type of antiseptic or something because when he put some on my skin; it stung so terribly that I had to muffle a scream. Wicki merely nodded and held my head still.

"I know, it stings. It won't hurt for too long."

When he was patting my forehead, I was staring at his face. More precisely, his eyes. They were quite peculiar and for a minute looked as if they was border lining on green rather than blue. He caught me looking and smiled.

"Does it still hurt?"

I shook my head and smiled back.

"Would it be okay if I asked you your name?"

Wicki looked as though he was contemplating it for a moment then shrugged.

"Wilhelm Wicki. Is your name really Isana?"

The question took me a little aback but I nodded anyways.

"Yes it is."

His smile beamed and suddenly, I felt like smiling too. When Wilhelm was finished with my wound he studied Laurent's jacket closely.

"That's a fine jacket, must have been very expensive."

And the moment was ruined. I lowered my eyes and tried to keep a small smile on my face.

"My father gave it to my brother as a gift for his birthday."

"And what did you get for your anniversaire?"

Hearing him say that one word just made me smile a lot more. Finally I had someone who spoke my language. He saw the expression on my face and startled to chuckle as I let loose long descriptive sentences about what birthday's where like for me in the eye of my father, as if I had not spoken in years.

"'Une mademoiselle de ton age doit pas savoir lire, ecrire nis communiquer!'"(A young lady of your age shouldn't know how to read, write or communicate!)

Wilhelm and I chuckled until he shook his head and sighed.

"Et ta mere, est-ce que elle etait d'accord avec ton pere?" (And your mother, did she agree with your father?)

I shrugged and exhaled.

"Je ne sais pas, ma mere est morte durant ma naissance." (I don't know. My mother died during my birth.)

"Ah, mes condoleances…pour tout." (Ah, my condolences…for everything.)

I looked at the ground for a while and nodded. Wilhelm put the bottle and the rest of the kit in his bag and stood up.

"Il est temps que tu vois le lieutenant, suit moi." (It's time for you to see the lieutenant, follow me.)

We walked through the camp in silence until we reached a series of trees. Behind one of the trees, leaning against the bark was Aldo himself accompanied by Donny and Stiglitz.

"Donowitz, take a walk. Isana, have a seat."

"Aw, come on! Why do I have to leave?"

"I said take a walk damn it."

I sat opposite to Aldo as Donny walked back to camp. Aldo took a small tin out of his pocket and inhaled some of its contents. I thought it awfully strange yet something told me I did not want to know. Stiglitz still looked as though he was throwing daggers with his gaze and it made a shiver go down my spine.

"First off, Stiglitz is sorry about hittin' you in the head. Ain't you Hugo?

Stiglitz rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath before giving me a nod.

"Now I'd like to know how ya got here exactly. Not that I don't believe ya, I'm just a curious man."

He ran his finger over his moustache and listened while I started the story from the Landa's visit.

"I'm guessing it was something my brother might have said because SS soldiers showed up to our house. We were able to get rid of a few but…more came and we ran out of bullets and…"

I had to stop and breathe a little to control myself from crying. My fingers held on tightly to the sleeves of my coat and suddenly it seemed as though my throat had become seriously dry. Not in front of these men, never in front of these men.

"And they killed him but you got away, that it?'"

"Yes, that is it. That is why that group of Germans found me by the stream. I was not "with" them at all."

I sent an angry stare up at Hugo and locked my jaw. He didn't look anywhere else for a moment until he said something angrily to Wicki in German and pointed towards me. Aldo cleared his throat and Stiglitz told him as well.

"She was coming our way and she would have screwed up the operation."

I let out a laugh and threw my arms in the air.

"A simple TURN AROUND would have been a lot better than a gun to the head."

Oddly, Aldo chuckled and all three of us looked towards him. "I'm sorry, continue."

"Well I had no time for that."

"But you had enough time to drag me somewhere else and tie my legs together? Oh, how difficult!"

My French accent had begun to show, it always did when I was angry. The longer I looked at Hugo Stiglitz, the more my blood began to boil. Aldo cupped my chin between his index finger and his thumb and brought my eyes back to him.

"Isana, I'm going to need you to calm down now. He did say he was sorry. How did you untie your legs anyway?"

Regaining control, I waited a few moments before speaking.

"I am crafty, Sir. I used a stick and my teeth."

Hugo gave me a smug laugh and crossed his arms while addressing Wilhelm.

"Sie ist nicht schlau, jeder weiß, Utivich ist bei binden schwach" (She isn't crafty; everyone knows Utivich is weak at knots.)

"Sie irren sich Hugo, ihr Vater war ein Professor." (You're wrong Hugo, her father was a professor.)

A small smile came to my face and Aldo seemed to notice it.

"Also ihr beide seid jetzt Freunde? War diese vor der oder nachdem Sie realisierten, Sie wollten sie ficken?" (So you two are friends now? Was this before or after you realized you wanted to fuck her?"

"Mach dich nicht lächerlich. Sie erzählte mir früher."(Don't be ridiculous. She told me earlier.)

"Sie ist immer noch dumm, wer ihr Vater ist egal war." (She's still stupid, no matter whom her father was.)

"Men, if I hear one more lick'a German, someone's tasting my boot."

Both men quieted and Aldo turned to me.

"Isana, how'd ya learn English?"

"My father was a professor and taught me it. Along with German."

I stared directly at Stiglitz as Aldo smiled widely, Wilhelm grinned and Hugo himself squinted.

"Hat das dumme Mädchen überrascht, dass du, Hugo?" (Has the stupid girl surprised you, Hugo?)

Stiglitz stared at me for a little while and smiled, his eyelids opening just enough for me to see a pair of blue eyes lighting up. He took a cigarette out of his pocket and lite it.

"Ziemlich viel" (Quite a lot.)

Aldo crossed his arms and nodded.

"Well, how 'bout that."


	11. Chapter 11

That night, I sat away from the men and watched the stars. I had put astronomy on my list of library books for Laurent to bring home and was very eager to read them. If only we hadn't been found out. I pulled the jacket closer around myself and sighed. The cool air had begun to really get to me and I was contemplating finding some footwear.

"Hi"

I looked up at the voice and saw that it was the young man from earlier who apparently tied me up. He was holding two bowls of something steamy and looked a little nervous for some unknown reason.

"Utivich, right?"

"Yeah, Smithson really. 'Thought you might be hungry so I brought you some stew. It's rabbit."

He handed me the bowl and I took it gratefully. I held the bowl close and smiled at him as he took a seat in front of me.

"Thank you, Smithson"

"I just, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for tying you up."

I shook my head and exhaled.

"It's okay, it wasn't so bad. I wouldn't have been able to get out of it if it was."

He grinned a little and shrugged his shoulders as he began to eat his stew. I watched him oddly eat with only his hands and wondered if he forgot utensils or if there were none. All I knew was that the smell alone was making my stomach growl and I couldn't wait one more minute. I picked up a piece of meat with my thumb and index finger and put it in my mouth. REAL food! The salty taste of the rabbit practically made my taste buds hum a lullaby. God, it tasted like life. I went on a bit of frenzy until I heard someone clear their throat. Hand full of stew, I could barely contain my humiliation when I noticed the Bear Jew beside me waving a spoon.

"Thought you might need this but it looks like you've got this one."

He chuckled as he sat down beside me and placed the wooden spoon in my bowl. He had a small grin on his lips and his eyes almost looked hazel. His boot touched my barefoot a little and I quickly moved it aside. I hid a blush and set the bowl on my lap before ripping a piece off of my dress and wiping my hand on it.

"Spoons! Knew I forgot something. Sorry, Isana" Utivich looked at his own hands and frowned as he was probably thinking about wiping them on his pants. I tore off another piece of my dress and tossed it onto his lap.

"For your hands."

"Hey, if you keep doing that your dress'll be gone by sunrise."

Donny smirked and set his finished bowl down in front of him.

"On second thought, I think I might need something to wipe my mouth…"

Smithson tossed his rag at Donny face and winked at me. I grinned inside and out as they both set to insulting each other. When he finally finished his bowl, Smithson belched.

"Hey, we have a lady present, be respectful!"

I started to giggle and shook my head.

"It's okay. Laurent used to burp so loud, it would scare the life out of me."

"Laurent was your brother, right?"

"Yeah." I cleared my throat a little and put my elbows on my knees. Donny leaned his shoulder into mine and I smiled.

"Tell us about him." Utivich gave Donowitz a strange look and shook his head firmly.

"What? I hear talking helps."

Both pairs of eyes darted my way, awaiting my opinion. I decided talking about Laurent wouldn't be so bad.

"Well, he was very smart. Probably the smartest person I know, knew. He would teach me new things and no matter how long it took, I would understand in the end. I mostly remember him always laughing about anything really. He risked a lot but it was always for the good of others, especially for me…"

I felt Donny lean in and could practically feel his breath on my jaw. His body heat surrounded me and I felt awfully warm. "Keep going."

"He was just a great brother I guess. Oh and a great shooter. He taught me secretly for years so my father would not be upset with us. I've gotten really good."

"You can shoot?" Both men said in unison. I couldn't help but feel a little wounded at that. Did I really look too fragile and weak to manage a gun? I told them about the night the Nazis came and watched their disbelief.

"That's impressive! It must've taken you a while to learn." Utivich seemed surprised but very impressed. He smiled and inched closer to Donny and me.

"You gotta be joking. A handgun? Sure. But a machine gun?" Donny had crossed his arms and stared unconvinced.

"Yes! It is not impossible you know. I'm sure you can use one." I pulled away from him and crossed my own arms.

"Yeah, but I'm a guy and…built. I can handle it. You're… "

"You know, I am probably just as good as you are Donny. No, not probably: I am."

"Really? Well I'd like to see that. Wouldn't you Smithson?"

Utivich chuckled and put his arms behind his head.

"I'm sure we're going to see a lot of what she can do."

Just as Donowitz tossed his bowl at Smithson, Stiglitz appeared.

"Alles in Ordnung? Diese beiden waren nicht lästig, waren sie?" (Are you okay? These two weren't a nuisance, were they?)

"Natürlich nicht Hugo. Im Gegensatz zu dir, ich genieße ihre Gesellschaft." (Of course not Hugo. Unlike yours, I enjoy their company.)

"Of course, we just love being left out of the conversation." Donny rolled his eyes and his tone dripped with sarcasm.

"I was just saying how much I enjoyed both of your company tonight." Utivich blushed and Donowitz grinned widely.

"Well, we do what we can…"

I got up and tugged at the bottom of my dress when an unexpected yawn came out and I shook my head.

"Well, I must be more tired than I thought I was."

"Here, take this."

He handed me a blanket, muttered a good night and walked off. I watched him walk away, still surprised towards his offering. Not only did he bring me a blanket, he said goodnight! It almost seemed like ol' frosty actually cared.

An instant after I sat back down, Donny and Smithson stood up. Upon seeing my frown, Smithson shrugged and gave me an apologetic look.

"Sorry Isa, we're on the next watch."

Donny patted my head and picked up both of our bowls. "Yep, sleep tight beautiful."

He winked before he and Utivich headed in the same direction Hugo had left by. I got up and looked for a spot to lay my head that was near camp and finally decided on a tree with long branches and full of leaves. When I reached it, I realized that Aldo had already put his back against the bark and had dozed off. I stared at him in the darkness for a while and even then the scar on his neck was somewhat visible.

"Am I fascinatin' enough for ya Miss Fayait?"

His voice had startled me and I gasped.

"Sorry lieutenant, I had not meant to stare"

Finally he opened his eyes and looked at me.

"I'm sure nobody does. Come on by here. You should get some shut eye, got a long day tomorrow."

I nodded and leaned against the tree beside the lieutenant. He closed his eyes again as I spread the blanket over my knees and looked up. Familiar blue eyes surrounded by a cloud of smoke were looking right back at me. Of course he slept in a tree, how silly of me to think he was actually normal. I winked and gave Stiglitz a small smile of thanks before making myself comfortable. For the first time in a long time, I felt somewhat safe as sleep came and engulfed me in its arms.


	12. Chapter 12

When I woke up, the sun was hitting me right in the face. I looked beside me in to say good morning to Aldo when I noticed he wasn't there. I looked up in the tree and saw no trace of Stiglitz, in fact, I didn't hear anything. I took my knife out of my pocket and held it tight just to be safe. Folding up the blanket, I walked to the center of camp silently and was comforted to see nobody but the Basterds themselves.

"Hey beautiful, you sleep okay?" Donowitz was eating a green apple and waved for me join him. I slid my knife back into my jacket before I walked over.

"Very well thank you."

He smiled and offered me a bite before putting his arm around my shoulders. I took in the feel of his rough hand on my skin as he guided me towards the rest of the men.

"Hey guys, this girl "enjoys" my company."

"Nobody cares!"

"Shut up Omar! She also thinks she's better with a gun than me."

I nodded and crossed my arms. That statement was followed by laughter and I was swearing at them all in my head.

"I don't think, I'm sure of it." His hand pushed me awfully close to his chest and I felt like I was blushing every shade imaginable. He looked down at me and raised his eyebrows. Steady Isana, steady…, I thought. He can smell fear.

"Is that so? I think we should test that." His gaze was more challenging than tempting but that did not mean that it was any easier to not get lost in.

"Donny, stop intimidating the girl." Just hearing Wilhelm's voice made me smile. I turned around and smiled as he made his way over.

"She started it." His hold on my shoulder slowly released and I took a few steps away from him.

"Well, you'll have to continue some other time. Isana, Aldo wants to see you."

Wicki tossed his head to the left and pointed in the direction of the lieutenant.

"I will come back to show you how good I am later." Donny tilted his head and chuckled as I walked towards Aldo with Wilhelm behind me. Oh great, Hugo was with him and somehow I didn't think it was to say good morning. I handed Stiglitz back the blanket then stood by Wicki.

"Miss Fayait, you well rested?" Aldo folded up a map and inhaled some of the substance he did yesterday.

"Yes Sir."

"Good 'cause it's going to be a long trek to the nearest town."

"Town? Why are we going to town?" I looked from him to Stiglitz and understood immediately. They were going to ditch me.

"No." I shook my head and crossed my arms.

"Now, I don't think I gave ya a choice." Aldo took off his hat and gave me a stern look.

"I don't care, I said no."

"Now, don't you get testy with me Isana. You're goin' and that's all there is to it."

"I'm not going!"

Wicki put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a look.

"_Isa, calm toi. C'est pour ton bien." _(Calm down Isa, it's for your own good.)

"_Non, c'est pour votre bien! Je n'irais pas."_ (No, it's for your own good. I won't go.) I shrugged off his hand and looked at Hugo. He had a cigarette in his mouth and the way it looked against his lips was quite tasteful but awfully distracting.

"_Sie sollten an Aldo hören, es ist gefährlich."_ (You should listen to Aldo, it's dangerous.)

That just made me laugh.

"_Ich weiß, es wird gefährlich sein. In der Tat, ich begrüße es."_ (I know it will be dangerous. In fact, I welcome it.)

Hugo smiled and nodded just as he walked towards the other men. Wicki soon followed after the lieutenant waved his head at him.

"Isana, we can't take you with us. What we're doin'… I don't think ya can handle, plus it's dangerous."

"I can handle it. I can aim and I can shoot with anything you give me."

"I know you may feel like ya need protection but-"

"Protection? Lieutenant I don't want your protection, I want to join you."

He sighed and looked up for a moment.

"I'm sure you're not so bad with a gun, but I don't think you're qualified enough to join the basterds."

I looked at Aldo and anger surged through me. Before I could even think, I took out the knife in my jacket, took one look towards camp and flung it.

"WHAT THE-" Donny's voice rang out and I smiled.

Aldo, wide-eyed, went closer to see what had happened as I watched in pride. The knife had landed in the Bear Jew's apple, right in between his fingers. Donowitz looked from his apple to me, open mouthed and hysterical.

"So you're good with a knife? Big deal!" He chuckled while pulling the knife out of the apple and bit into it. I grinned as I watched the juices drip down his chin and onto his peeking chest hair. Finally, I faced Aldo and looked him straight in the eyes.

"The Germans took something from me Aldo, they took my own blood. Now it's time for me to collect theirs."

The lieutenant looked me over and a grin came upon his lips.

"Well, let's bleed go bleed 'em dry then."


	13. Chapter 13

"Since you look about the same height as Omar, I took some of his things for ya. That okay?"

The Bear Jew was holding a few articles of clothing in a pile but the very first thing I noticed were boots. I smiled out of relief as he handed them to me and shrugged my shoulders.

"If he's okay with it, I am okay with it. Thank you."

I could practically feel him grin as I went behind a nearby tree and took off my jacket. I pulled at the buttons on the back of my dress but they wouldn't budge.

"You need any help there?" _Of course I do and I know you'd be more than happy to oblige_, I thought.

"No, I'm fine thanks. I'll meet you back at camp."

I waited until I heard his footsteps go away from the tree to continue with the buttons. I didn't have to worry about this kind of thing before because my brother would usually help me. I groaned and tried to pull at the top button. If there was ever a time I liked that dress, I take it back. The moment I undid those buttons, I was going to bury it. I had one hand above the button and another below it when I heard footsteps approaching.

"Donny, I said I'm fine!" I turned around and it wasn't Donowitz that I saw, but Stiglitz. He had another cigarette in his mouth and it drooped perfectly.

"_Was machst du da?"_ (What are you doing?)

"_Der Versuch, loszuwerden, diese dummen Schaltfläche . Was machst du denn hier? "_ (Trying to get rid of these stupid buttons. What are you doing here?)

"Watching you fail."

I laughed at his English and turned away.

"So am I some form of entertainment for you now?"

Suddenly, my hair was pushed to the side and his hands pulled my fingers away from the button. I could feel and smell his cigarette breathe on my neck and I felt a small jolt each time his fingers touched my spine. They were so soft. I suddenly wished that I had not forgotten to wear a brassiere that day for it might have minimized the effect this man had on me. What was he doing to me? My heart rate had increased by at least seventy-five percent.

"Done."

I exhaled and held the font of my dress up. The cool morning air gave me goose bumps.

"_Danke ,Hugo"_ (Thank you Hugo)

"_Nun, das ist eine Premiere."_ (Well, that's a first.)

"_Für was?"_ (For what?)

"_Dass du mir danken. Sie beleidigen mich in der Regel."_ (That you thank me. You usually insult me.)

"I wonder why? I know you're not fond of me Hugo, I am not a child."

"Did I tell you otherwise?"

I cleared my throat and closed my eyes. Tell me otherwise? He showed me otherwise. He was always cold and nothing about his persona screamed "HELLO!" I felt my palms heat up and my anger tick.

"Are you going to watch me dress as well?"

"_Keine Sorge, ich werde zu verlassen."_ (Don't worry, I'll leave.)

As soon as he left, I took a hold of the clothes on the ground with one hand and looked at what Donnie had brought me with the other. There was a grey long-sleeved shirt, dark green pants, black socks and of course the boots. I put them on quickly before any other basterds would show up. As I slipped my arms through my jacket, I looked at the dress one last time. I decided to rip off a long strip of the fabric and tied my hair with it, and then I could finally part ways with it. When I got back to camp, the supplies had already been picked up and the men were just about ready to go.

"Okay men, let's move out. Those Germans aint gonna kill themselves!" The lieutenant waited in the center of it all as the rest of the men gathered around him. I stood between Utivich and Omar as they were about to head out. Omar casually looked at me over and I smiled at him.

"Thank you very much for the clothes, Omar."

Omar shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"At least they look better on you than they do on me." I chuckled and gave him a nod of approval before we started our trek and he went to join Hirschberg at the front of the group. The sun hid behind a few clouds for only a few moments then came down right on us. I took off my hunting jacket and put it across my arm. The basterds walked at a brisk pace while certain men walked away from the group. I could tell just by the trail of smoke who one of them was. He was walking quickly yet his cigarette stayed put in the same position.

"You alright?"

With the sound of Smithson's voice, I came back to reality. I blinked a few times and nodded. I needed a distraction.

"I'm fine. Smithson, if you don't mind me asking, where are you from exactly?"

"Brooklyn, New York."

"Is it nice there?" I saw a small grin appear on his face and it seemed as though his eyes got brighter than the blue they already were.

"It sure is, especially in the summer. The heat's up, but everybody's out and just having fun. There's barbecues and socials…"

"That sounds fantastic. What else is special about it?" I tried to picture it in my mind but needed more to work with. As if he heard my thoughts, Utivich began telling me all about his home in Brooklyn with his mother, father and his older brother. It turned that his father was a milkman and his brother ,Jimmy, was studying to become a doctor. He told me about the landscaping of the city and the colors that surrounded it.

"And there's this garden in the city center that's full of tons of flowers and in almost every color. Man, I think you'd really like it."

I smiled a little as I began to think about the garden I used to sit and write in everyday as my brother played chess with my father nearby. I put my arm through his and smiled.

"I think I already do."

We arrived near the orchard about an hour or so later. Aldo sent Hugo and Wilhelm to scout out the dozen Germans that were supposed to be there. As we waited, I sat beside a tree and had been polishing my knife with my sleeve, as nervous as could be. It might not have been my first experience with Nazis but it was my first experience without Laurent. I was hoping that, with the amount of times I rubbed my knife with his jacket, I'd get some type of luck out of it.

"You must be nervous."

I rolled my eyes a little at the sound of Donny's voice and watched him lean against my tree. I shrugged my shoulders and put down my knife.

"A little, should go okay though. Shouldn't it?"

"Yeah, of course."

I closed my eyes and tried to find a good grip on my knife until I noticed the lieutenant making his way towards me with Stiglitz and Wicki. I stood as he drew near and held my knife to my side.

"Miss Fayait, I got a special job for ya."

"Okay sir, whatever it is, I'm ready."

"How good are ya with charm?"

I had never read a book about charm but somehow I had a feeling that I was about to write my own.


	14. Chapter 14

I ran my fingers through my hair as I walked barefoot to the side of the orchard. My arms had begun to get goose bumps when I boldly ripped off my sleeves and let my hair brush against them. I listened to what Aldo needed me to do a bit skeptically at first until Donny and Stiglitz began to place bets on how badly I would fail. That just made me even more determined. I was right near the orchard when I saw half of the dozen Germans near a small shed by the crops. I folded the bottoms of my pants and put a large fake smile on my face.

"_Bonjour les hommes!"_ (Hello men!)

When I was sure I had gotten the attention of all six soldiers, I walked towards them and moved my hair to strategically cover my bruise. I put on my best "helpless woman" look and put my arms on my waist.

"_Est-ce que quelque-uns de vous pouvez m'aider?"_ (Could one of you help me?)

I saw one of the soldiers smile creepily and share a joke with another soldier. He had a crooked nose and thick eyebrows.

"_Qu'est-ce quon peut faire pour toi mademoiselle?"_ (What can we help with, young lady?)

"_Mon pere et moi avons des problemes avec notre vehicle alors il m'a demande d'aller chercher de l'aide." _(My father and I are having problems with our vehicle so he asked me to come and get help.)

The creepy soldier went back into serious mode and stared at me for a while.

"_Pourquoi ton pere n'a pas venu lui meme? Surement il sait que c'est pas securitaire de laisser sa fille sans protection."_ (Why didn't your father come himself? Surely, he knows that it isn't safe to leave his daughter without protection.)

"_Je suppose que c'etait la bonne chance que j'ai rencontrer des soldats forts de la SS, non?"_ (Then I suppose that I was lucky to meet strong soldiers from the SS, no?)

The soldier chuckled awkwardly and crossed his arms.

"_Bien sure."_ (Of course.)

After conversing with them for a while and throwing in a "You're so handsome" or two, I left the orchard accompanied by six soldiers while the rest of them stayed behind. When we were out of site, I let out a long whistle. As I kept my eyes on the forest beside the road, I was answered by an identical whistle.

"_Les oiseaux doivent vous aimez."_ (The birds must love you.)

"_Oui, les oiseaux. C'est bien sa."_ (Yes, the birds. That's exactly it.) I smiled towards him and kept walking down the road. We had walked at least ten minutes and nobody had talked as I led the way.

"_Est-ce qu'on est proche de votre vehicule?"_ (Are we any closer to your vehicle?)

At that exact moment, I heard two loud whistles and I rubbed my hands together.

"_Oui, sergent. Tres tres proche."_ (Yes sergeant. Very very close.)

I began to lead the men into the middle of the street and whistled in low key. _Make sure they're all facing you_, I thought.

"_Il est surement pas stationer dans la foret votre auto."_ (Surely your automobile isn't parked in the forest.)

I smiled and giggled.

"_Bien sure que non! Il est stationer just au bas de la rue. Je voulais seulement vous remercier c'est tout!" _(Of course not! It's parked just down the road. I only wanted to thank you, that's all.) I began adjusting each soldier's collars and kissing their cheeks. I lingered with the sergeants. I had to muster up all of the resilience I had to hide my absolute repulsion. He looked at me with anxious eyes and leaned in. Just as his lips were going to touch mine, I looked behind him and backed away giggling. Seeing my hesitation, the sergeant stared at me in confusion. It wasn't until he heard the sound of a gun cock that he realized why.

"Good job Isana." Aldo nodded towards me as I walked over to him and the rest of the basterds. The Germans had lowered their guns and three basterds made them drop to their knees with their arms behind their heads.

"Thank you, lieutenant. Did you get rid of the rest of them?"

"I'm appalled you even asked. Stiglitz, Donny and Wicki got 'em taken care of in a jiffy, even bringin' us a little present."

The lieutenant whistled three long notes and the basterds filled the soldiers with bullets. Blood was pouring from each body heavily. Just as I was going to talk to Smithson, he ran past me and began scalping one of the dead. I watched him eagerly pull a man's hair and make an incision above the forehead while I stood beside Aldo and he inhaled his substance. The only soldier who wasn't scalping was Omar simply because he didn't get to a corpse fast enough. I nudged him with my elbow.

"How many scalps do you need to collect?"

"A hundred."

I raised my eyebrows and shook my head. Those boys were definitely going to be busy.

"How many are you at?"

"Fifty-seven, give me a month or so and I should have them all."

I started wondering if I would need to start collecting scalps and as if I was thinking out loud, Aldo shook his head.

"No scalps for you Miss Fayait, I got somethin' different in mind for ya."

I decided not to ask but curiosity pulled at my insides. Just as I was thinking of what it could be, I heard an engine. I began to panic and looked around hysterically. Aldo merely stood there with his arms crossed. As the truck drew closer, I took a break from my panic attack and really observed the people in it. I slowly smiled as I noticed Donny behind the wheel with Wicki beside him and Stiglitz in the back. The faded green truck stopped by our side of the road and the men came out.

"Well, that went well."

The men cheered when Donny held his bat up high to show that it had been covered with new blood. Stiglitz looked from the scalped soldiers to me and lite up a cigarette just as Wicki walked towards me with my jacket in his hands. He held it as I put my arms through and bent down to my ear.

"Bien fait, Isa" (Well done, Isa.)

The way his breathe hit my ear made my insides grow warm and I was lost in it. He may have smelt like blood but I didn't care, his scent was home. I patted his shoulder and kissed both of his cheeks.

"Merci Wilhelm mais je crois que c'est toi qui a tres bien fait." (Thank you Wilhelm but I think it's you who did very well.)

He ran his hand through his hair to hide his blush and smiled as he began to walk away. Something about Wilhelm made him seem somehow familiar and I enjoyed every time we spoke. Aldo made Donnie move aside and took the wheel.

"Let's move out men. "


	15. Chapter 15

We drove all day and soon the sun began to show signs of setting. I sat in the back of the truck next to Omar and Hirschberg and, to my surprise, we spoke for almost the entire ride at least or until Hirschberg started falling asleep on my shoulder. Then it was just me and Omar.00

"You know, this whole adventure reminds me of a book my brother had told me about. I think it had a dwarf and a few wizards or something…"

"You mean The Hobbit?"

"Yes, I think that was what it was called. You know it?" I had honestly not really expected that but it seemed he did.

"Of course, my pop always wanted me to read something 'cause he thought that since he worked at a newsstand, my sister and I should to read all the time. So one day he brought me that book and I actually read it."

"You didn't like to read?

"It wasn't my thing."

"What was your thing?"

Omar paused for a while and shrugged his shoulders. "I kind of always liked helping my ma out in the kitchen. When I stopped to read the book, boy she wasn't happy."

"Did you like the book at least?"

"If I didn't I wouldn't of read it." He grinned and looked over at Hirschberg who was dozing on my shoulder. I held in my laughter as Omar began pulling his nose and Hirschberg merely swatted his hand away moaning "Geroff me sis, geroff" which made Omar and I erupt in laughter. When we were finally finished laughing, he shifted back to sleep on my shoulder. I patted Omar's shoulder and nodded towards Hirschberg.

"You think he's read it?" Omar raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

"Gerry? I'd be surprised if he read something other than the menu in his pops deli."

Gerry moved a little and shook his head.

"Fuck you, Omar."

I giggled and finally decided to doze off as well. When I woke up, it was dark as pitch and I thought everyone besides Aldo was sleeping. Until I saw Hugo sitting casually across from me, light up a cigarette. I didn't need to see his eyes to know he was watching.

"Kann nicht schlafen, Hugo?" (Can't sleep Hugo?)

"Ich habe selten schlafen. Haben Sie gut geschlafen?" (I rarely sleep. Did you sleep well?)

"Gut genug." (Good enough.)

I adjusted my jacket and stared where I imagined Hugo's eyes would be through the puffs of smoke. At least this way I didn't have to see his perfect lips cradle his cigarette. After carefully moving Gerry's head off of my shoulder and having him lean the other way, I got up and carefully made my way to a space beside Stiglitz and near the lieutenant. I stared at the smoke making its way away from us as the wind from the trucks speed carried it. Suddenly he took another cigarette out of his pocket and handed it to me. I took it and stared at it strangely. I had never seen the appeal of smoking so I had never tried it. I put it to my lips slowly and Hugo lit a match and brought it to its tip.

"Inhalieren." (Inhale)

As I inhaled, it felt like thick steam had come into my mouth and attacked at my lungs. I tried to hold it in but I wound up coughing intensely and gasping for air. I tossed the cigarette over the side of the truck. My coughing interrupted a few of the men's slumber but I stopped coughing long enough to say "It is fine, I'm okay." When I finally finished coughing out my organs, I sat in silence. All of a sudden, I heard a soft chuckle from beside me. Hugo Stiglitz was actually laughing. It was a low and husky sound, but I was sure it was a laugh. It actually sounded somewhat sweet. His laughter began to rise a little and I began to realize what a fool I made of myself, which made me begin to laugh. I put my hand on his shoulder and laughed at full force. We were laughing so loud that some of the basterds twitched awake.

"Geez, will you two cool it?" Donny turned around and sighed loudly. I could barely contain myself to completely say "Sorry Donny." Which made Hugo and me laugh some more. We stopped laughing gradually and merely sat there. My hand was still on his shoulder and he had not seemed to mind so I kept it there. Suddenly, I began to feel like a terrible person. I realized that Hugo didn't mean to come across the way he did and that my attitude towards him was nothing but rude.

"Hugo, ich entschuldige mich, wenn mein Verhalten war nicht ... begrüßung." (Hugo, I apologize if my behavior was not…welcoming.) I felt him shift his shoulder a little.

"Ich genoß wirklich Ihre bisherigen Verhalten." (I really enjoyed your previous behavior.)

"Wirklich?" (Really?)

"Ja." (Yes.)

I looked at his silhouette for a while and the sides of my mouth lifted for the strange feeling that he was probably staring back. I wanted to get to know him a lot more than I cared to admit.

"Guessin' smokin' aint your thing, Miss Fayait?" Aldo's voice startled me. Did he have eyes at the back of his head or something? I quickly moved my hand off of Hugo's shoulders and turned towards the lieutenant.

"Definitely not Sir."

"Good to hear, personally I think those things'll kill ya." I told myself to not mention that tin of his he liked to sniff things out of. I turned back towards Stiglitz and just as I was about to talk to him, Aldo interrupted.

"What were you hoping to do before the war Isana?"

"Write. I wanted to write."

"Aint that nice. What kind of stories do you write?"

"Mostly fiction but the last one I was writing was about my brother and I. I was writing it since I was fifteen."

"Well you can always re-write it can't ya? You know what? Climb on over and tell me 'bout it."


	16. Chapter 16

Hugo Stiglitz didn't know how Aldo knew, but he was thankful for his interruption. He wasn't sure what would have happened if she kept her hand on his shoulder for one more minute. He had mixed feelings towards the woman and whenever she looked at him, he felt naked. Vulnerable, strange. First he thought she didn't belong, that she should leave, but she seemed to have latched onto something inside him. That and the fact that she had fantastic aim and he couldn't wait to see what else she could do. Her smiles made his heart race and her skin… He wanted their moment in the forest to last forever. She reminded him of his ex-wife Gretchen. He leaned back and listened to her tell the lieutenant about her life with her brother and lite up another cigarette.

"I first learned to shoot on my fifteenth birthday. My father had given me a sewing kit as a gift but Laurent, he knew what I really wanted. So brought me to an empty field and set up empty tin cans. He gave me my first official shooting lesson. After that, he would take me hunting when our father was away or at a meeting."

"Where did your brother learn to shoot?"

"My father spent a lot of his life in the French army, so he taught him."

"Interestin'. When did ya realize you wanted to write?"

For a moment, he heard Isana's voice hesitate. "When I snuck into my fathers' study and read 'Down and Out in Paris and London'."

"Never heard of that one."

"It was about a poor writer who travelled through Paris and London. He couldn't afford much, but he did so much just to write. It gave the courage to tell my father my dreams."

"And wha'd he say?"

"No of course. He only wanted me to marry and that was it."

"Nothin' really wrong with that.'

"I know, it is not as though I don't want to marry. It is just that I don't want to only be a wife; I just want to be a writer as well. I would not have had any freedom if I had lived his way." I wouldn't hold her back, he thought.

"Think 'bout it Isana, how much freedom do you really have now?"

Hugo stayed awake through the entire conversation; just listening to her talk relaxed him. After a while he could hear the exhaustion in her words and knew she was just about to fall asleep. The sun was starting to rise and the sky went from black to purple. He thought about Gretchen and what they used to have. About the way she looked at him with worry as he was being taken away and with hatred when she realized what he had done. Hugo was more than sure she did not want him anymore after the fifteenth letter he sent to her had not been replied. He turned around to get a look at Isana only to see that she had rested her head on Donny's shoulder. She was such a gentle sleeper. He felt a knot twist in his stomach. How could a mere strange woman erupt such feelings in him after so long and in such little time?


	17. Chapter 17

"Why're ya just staring at her like that? Kinda givin' me the creeps Donny."

I was awoken by the sound of the lieutenant's voice and felt skin beneath my cheek. It smelt like sweat mixed with moisture and I couldn't help but take in the sweetness of it.

"Shhh, you'll wake her. Hey, the lump on her forehead is looking much better."

I felt the Bear Jews fingers touch my forehead and caress my jawline. It was such an intimate gesture that I shivered and my eyelids opened.

"Mornin' Isa" He had the biggest smile on his face as I pulled away from him and bumped into Aldo. That was too close for comfort.

"Good morning."

"Wha'd I say Donny? Creepy." I chuckled and patted Aldo on the shoulder.

"I could not have said it any better lieutenant."

Donny gave me a fake look of disappointment and I softly punched his shoulder.

"Where are we going?"

"A small town 'bout two hours or so away but first, we're going to make a little stop."

The sides of Donny's mouth kind of twitched upwards which made me curious to why we were going to stop but I didn't dare say anything. He was the lieutenant for a reason; he knew what he was doing. In a way, he reminded me of my father. He had the same calm yet menacing air about him and last night I felt like I could be completely honest with him. Well, half honest. I didn't tell him about my inheritance but I figured that information wasn't important. Somehow I knew though, that I would have to tell someone.

"Bon matin, Isana" (Good morning, Isana)

I turned around and smiled at Wilhelm as he ran his hand through his hair. For some odd reason I felt something in my stomach take off as our eyes collided. A small grin was formed on his lips and I began to feel warm. Then I remembered my manners.

"Bon matin Wilhelm, as tu bien dormis?" (Good morning Wilhelm, did you sleep well?)

"Assez bien. T'est tu amusez avec Hugo?" (Good enough. Did you have fun with Hugo?)

I rubbed the side of my neck and bit my lip. I'd forgotten that Hugo and I had woken up most of the men with our laughter.

"Je ne savais meme pas s'il pouvait rire. J'etais surprise." (I didn't even know he could laugh, I was surprised.)

Wilhelm chuckled and held out his hand.

"Viens derriere. J'imagine que tourner ton corps comme cela pour me parler n'est pas comfortable." (Come back here. I imagine turning your body like that to talk to me isn't comfortable.)

My grin felt too big for my face as I put my hand in his. His palm felt warm and rough against my fingers. I climbed over the seat and into the back of the truck and sat next to Wilhelm and across from Smithson. All of the men were up, even Hugo. I had gotten the impression that he had stayed up the entire night but I must have been paranoid. He lite up a cigarette and nodded towards me and I nodded back.

"J'ai jamais eu la chance de te demander, mais viens tu de l'Allemagne? (I didn't have the chance to ask you before, but are you from Germany?)

"Proche, mais je suis d'Austrie." (Close but I'm from Austria.)

"C'est pour ca ton accent est si impeccable." (That's why your accent is so impeccable.)

He ran his hand through his hair again and muttered a thank you.

"C'est seulement parce que j'ai grandis avec l'Allemand mais toi, on dirait que tes levres son agiles en le parlant." (That's only because I grew up with that German but you, I'd say your lips are nimble when speaking it.)

I unknowingly was about to bring my finger to my lips until I began to seriously blush. To hide my face, I turned towards Smithson and poked his knee so he would look away from the trees.

"How was your sleep?" He looked at me a little surprised and blinked a few times. His eyes looked red and I doubted that he had closed them for a long time.

"Could have been a lot better but I'm okay." He rubbed his eyes and gave me a tiny smile. That's when I realized that those red eyes weren't from lack of sleep. I felt this strange need to hug him and to hold him until my arms were sore but soon pushed it back when I remembered who I was with. Basterds did not cry, they murdered. Instead I nodded and patted his shoulder. Talking about his family and his home must have stirred up some emotions so I told him about my old home. He needed a distraction. I spent a while telling him about the nearby forest; about the garden even about my annoying neighbor Madame Tilois who used to think we had a dog because she claimed she heard a bark.

"Everyone knew she was senile, so we just ignored it and gave her cake."

His big beautiful eyes began to brighten again and it was during that time that Smithson Utivich became my favorite basterd. The truck began to slow down and we hit an unexpected bump. Smithson grabbed my shoulder before I hit it too badly against the side of the truck. We were near a vast clearing and everything in it looked overgrown. When the truck stopped, the lieutenant jumped out and the rest of us followed.

"Alright, now listen up. We're 'bout half an hour from town and that's as far as we're gonna get, for now. Donny, park 'er for me. The rest'a ya, we're settin' up camp."

Donowitz nodded and parked the truck somewhere down the road. Aldo began leading us through the clearing until we reached the woods. The grass reached my knees and the amount of insects that I had to brush off of my legs was incredible. Stiglitz and Wicki went into the forest before us and began to scout it out. I pulled off my jacket and put it across my arm just as Donnie slapped me in the center of my back. I gritted my teeth and pushed him by his shoulders.

"Fiesty aren't ya? You know I'm still waiting to see how good you are with a gun."

"Give me yours and I will show you."

He smirked and shook his head.

"Sorry beautiful, but the only gun I'm lettin' you hold is this one." He grabbed his crotch and started laughing.

"Donny! Have a little restraint will ya?" Aldo shot Donowitz a stern look and he stopped laughing.

"We both know she don't want YOU." He looked towards me and inclined his head. Jesus, he was exactly like my father. After a long wait, Hugo and Wilhelm returned, walking quickly.

"Whatcha got for me men?"

"A cabin quite a few miles away." The sides of Wilhelm's mouth turned up and he saw Aldo's delight.

"Is that all?"

"A cabin with six Germans."

"Now that's more like it. Donny, Utivich, Omar; I want you to go take care of 'em but don't y'all be greedy. Miss Fayait might want to enjoy herself too."

I froze when I heard my name. It took me a moment to react before I looked at Aldo inquisitively. He smiled and nodded his head.

"That's right Isana, you're goin' with em'.


	18. Chapter 18

My mind was in a rut and my hands wouldn't stop shaking as the Basterds and I walked towards the Nazi filled cabin. I tried to hold my knife with a firm grip but it kept slipping because of my sweaty palms. Aldo had not given me a gun because he thought it was time that my knife got well acquainted with human flesh. I felt immensely jealous of the men with their artillery on that point. The closer we got to the cabin the more my heart leapt. Smithson glanced at me and nudged my shoulder.

"Don't worry Isa."

"Why would she worry? This is just another easy round for Miss FAIL-ait." Donny smiled at me as I gave him the French sign to go fuck himself and I found my edge. As much as I hated to admit it, Donny's teasing gave me the want to prove him wrong and in a way strengthened me. The lieutenant had taken my jacket just before I left and told me what I needed to bring him. I missed the fabric on my arms and seriously regretted tearing them off. Omar suddenly giggled and shook his head.

"You were right, this is really like The Hobbit."

"What the fuck is the Hobbit?"

"It's in something you've probably never touched in your life."

Omar and I looked at each other and starting laughing at the confused Bear Jew. As we got closer to the cabin we slowed our steps and quieted our movements. The cabin seemed to be rather large but in very good shape. Four soldiers were standing by the entrance drinking something from large mugs and a truck was parked on the behind the home. They had not let go of their guns. We crouched down and began planning.

"What are we waiting for?" Omar seemed really anxious to start shooting and I'm sure it was because he was itching to collect more scalps.

"Their holding ak's you idiot! We can't just go at them straight on."

"We have to find a way to catch them with their pants down…" Donowitz was running his hand all through his hair when I finally thought about it.

"Why don't we?"

After a half hour of waiting, one of them felt the call of the wild and went to a bush out of the view of the men to relieve himself. I watched from behind a tree as Omar came up behind him and covered his mouth as he slit his throat in one swift movement. His blood sprayed onto a nearby bush but not a sound was made. At that same time, we heard shots fired from the other two Basterds and sprinted to its location. When we got there Donny and Utivich had shot two of the men that were left but the other ran inside to most likely warn the others.

"There's only three of them, let's go!"

I began to panic when I realized that they had left me alone. I heard more shots fired and a scream or two. Wait, that scream sounded familiar. I looked for another entrance to the home but found none. That was when I heard Donowitz yell and a Nazi ran right past me.

"NAZI COMING YOUR WAY ISA, TAKE HIM DOWN."

The Nazi had no gun but he was running towards his only way out. My heart stopped; the truck! If he reached that truck we would be done for. I ran right behind him and had my knife ready. Full of adrenaline, it felt like the most important moment of my life. Just as he was going for the handle, I tossed my knife tip first and it made its way, just like Donny's apple, straight to the core. I heard the man cry out just as it tasted the flesh of his back and the keys to the truck fell to the ground. I briskly walked up to him and pulled him by the collar, holding his head still in one of my arms and pulled out my knife from his spine. He was wide eyed but was gasping and his hands were gripping at my arm and hitting me as if they could really do any damage.

"_Bitte… nicht..."_ (Please…don't)

"A debt is a debt."

I brought my knife up to his throat and it took me two flicks of the wrist to slice through his skin. With each cut, I felt fulfilled. Some of his blood ran down my arm and I heard Aldo's request in my head so I turned the body over and got to work.


	19. Chapter 19

It had been over an hour and a half since Hugo's heart was beating at the pace of a machine gun. They had not returned yet. It had not taken Wicki and him that long to come back, what could possibly take them so long? He looked over to the other basterds from his tree and they all seemed calm with not one inch of worry. Hugo tried to calm himself by sharpening his knife but that only made him think of her. Were it not for the lieutenants' disapproval, he would have gladly given her his gun. He wondered how much damage she'd actually get with her hunting knife and shook his head. It was best not to think about it. More time passed and Hugo Stiglitz for the first time felt fear. Not for himself, but for her. She had gotten deep under his skin. He lite up a cigarette and inhaled deeply. _What have you done to me?,_ he thought. He looked around from higher ground to see if he could catch a glimpse of them.

"Whatcha up to Stiglitz?" Aldo had suddenly appeared at the bottom of Hugo's oak with his arms crossed.

"Looking for any movement."

"Hugo, I'm sure they're fine. Now get your ass down here."

Hugo sighed began making his way down because there was no protesting with the lieutenant. He jumped down the last branch and stood in silence.

"What's eatin' ya Hugo?" Hugo kept silent and shook his head.

"Nothing lieutenant." He took another drag of his cigarette and exhaled shakily.

"You know there's nothin' to worry 'bout right? The boys'll be fine." Aldo watched the tension in Hugo's jaw and his uneasy breathing. Stiglitz nodded and crossed his arms. The lieutenant lowered his voice and inclined his head.

"But it's not the boys you're worried 'bout, is it?" Aldo looked him in the eyes and grinned. Hugo really wondered how in the hell he could tell. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

"Thought so. Let's talk." He put his hand on Hugo's shoulder and turned him away from the other basterds so they could speak privately.

"She can handle her own and you know it. What she needs is someone to support her, not limit her and trust me; I think she's made it pretty clear who she wants." Stiglitz rolled his eyes and nodded. Of course she would want Wilhelm. He spoke her language, he made her smile just by speaking and he was much more welcoming.

"Wicki." Aldo began to chuckle and pulled out his snuff box.

"If you really think that, then oh boy, you really haven't paid attention to her at all."

Suddenly, Hugo heard the sound of someone approaching and raised his gun. Through the trees came Donny and Omar, panting and covered in blood. Hugo's eyes widened when he realized neither Utivich nor Isana was with them. Aldo smiled and pointed toward the men in triumph.

"What took y'all so long? Where's the other two?" Donny wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and hauled his gun above his shoulder.

"Sorry lieutenant, we had to move some bodies out of the cabin. One of them took a bullet to the shoulder; I dare ya to guess who."

Before Aldo even gave the order to move out, Hugo's cigarette butt was already cooling on the ground and he was sprinting into the forest. One moment ago he felt as though his heart was flowering but after Donny's news, it squeezed tightly. He ran as fast as he could go with only a mere few hours of sleep. He needed to get to her fast, his emotions wouldn't let him stop or even look back. Sadly, his body made him slow down only a mile or so from the cabin. He couldn't hear the basterds, only the exhaustion of his heart pounding in his ears. He took a drink of water from his canteen and began walking quickly until he saw the cabin that was when he ran again. When he reached the home, Stiglitz practically ripped the door off of its hinges as he charged into the room. It was quite empty besides a few chairs and a table. There was picture frames on the walls and an ice box in the corner of the room right beside a door.

"Isa! Sind Sie In Ordnung?" (Isa! Are you alright?)

"Hugo, Im hier!" (Hugo, in here!)

He rushed to the door and opened it. The tight grip that was on his heart was released when he found Isana sitting on a bed, unharmed, holding Smithson up in her arms and squeezing his hand tight. The boy's wound had been covered up poorly since he was bleeding through his bandages. His entire body looked pale and Isana looked immensely worried. She looked up at Hugo and began to tear up. It made his heart break to see her like this.

"Hugo! Er braucht Hilfe, Ist Wilhelm mit dir?" (Hugo! He needs help, is Wilhelm with you?)

Stiglitz set his gun down and rolled up his sleeves. He grabbed the first aid kit out of his bag and started setting up. He'd been through wounds like this many times during his time in the army. Fuck Wicki, he could do this. He managed to get Isana to set Utivich down and put his arm on her shoulder.

"Gehen Sie nach draußen und warten auf den anderen. Ich werde darum kümmern." (Go outside and wait for the others. I'll take care of it.)

As he led her out of the room, she wrapped her arms around his torso and suddenly Hugo couldn't move. Surprised wasn't even the word he would have used to describe his emotions, there simply was none. He did nothing but wrap his arms around her and held tight for a moment. It felt so good to hold her that close. He could feel her tearful face against his chest and kissed her forehead delicately. She didn't say anything, but Hugo knew what she was feeling. He looked over at the boy and shook his head. As much as he wanted to stay like this, he had to help Smithson quickly. He pulled away and led her to the through the door.


	20. Chapter 20

"Omar, pass me that bread."

The Basterds were sitting at a table eating what they had found in the cupboards as I stood beside a doorframe, trying desperately not to chew my nails. Stiglitz had not come out yet and the yells that were coming from the room weren't one bit reassuring. After retrieving what I needed to "complete my mission", I ran into the house to check on the men and found Smithson sitting against a wall with a bullet in his shoulder. I nearly had a heart attack. Donny had tried to treat him but I just told him to go and find Wicki because he did not have a clue what he was doing. I hadn't expected Hugo to show up, most of all that quickly but by god I was grateful. He reminded me of some kind of superhero.

"Hey Isa! Come eat somethin'" Donny waved a piece of bread over his head and the whole table went silent. Thanks a ton Donowitz! I shook my head and started to back out through the door.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry."

I turned around and left the men to their food and went through the door. The sky was slowly going from afternoon to evening and it had begun to rain. I sat on the ground and rubbed by arms. My skin was chilled and I was too occupied listening to the drops on the ground to hear Wilhelm's presence.

"Sa-va tu Isa?" (Are you okay Isa?)

"Honnetement? Non." (Honestly, no.)

He sat and nudged me.

"Dit moi pourquoi." (Tell me why.) I gave him a blank look. Really? Was there need for an explanation? He sighed and rested his hand on my shoulder.

"Il faut que tu comprends que c'est ca la consequence de la guerre. Des fois des choses come cela arrive meme des fois plus pire…" (You have to understand that that's the consequence of war. Sometimes things like that happen, at times even worst…)

"Je comprends cela mais…c'est just que j'ai peur. J'avais peur de perdre Smithson comme j'avais peur de perdre Laurent. Tout simplement je suis certaine que j'ai pas ce qu'il faut d'etre une batard." (I understand that but… it's that I'm afraid. I was afraid to lose Smithson like I was afraid to lose Laurent. I'm certain I don't have what it takes to be a basterd.)

"Tu crois qu'ont est pas peur nous? Ont est tous peur Isa, ont est seulement bien a le cacher." (You think we're not afraid? We're all scared Isa, we're only better at hiding it.)

His hand slightly squeezed my shoulder and I felt, strangely of all places, at home. He shifted a little closer until my thigh was touching his.

"Isa, je veus que tu me promet de jamais t'inquieter pour moi." (Isa, I want you to promise that you won't worry about me.)

I looked towards the grass and nodded until he lifted my chin up so he could look me in the eyes. His face wasn't its usual welcoming, he was serious.

"Promis?" (Promise?) I nodded again and stared at his face.

"Promis." (Promise.)

That brought a smile to his face and he hugged me tight. As I sat there in his arms, I took in the ambience of the hug, it wasn't like Hugo's. Wilhelm's arms didn't make me want to stay in them forever, his hold didn't make me want to hold even tighter and his heartbeat didn't make me wonder how fast mine was going when his lips touched my forehead. He was too…familiar. That was when it suddenly dawned on me why he seemed so familiar; in my eyes, he was Laurent. He was the great brother who could make me smile without even saying anything; he could make me feel better with just one word and with just one touch of comfort, could make everything alright. I brought my arms around his waist and hugged, feeling in some way secure.

"Tu sais, tu me souviens de ma petite soeur." (You know, you remind me of my little sister.)

"Ta une soeur?" (You have a sister?)

"Oui, elle s'appelle Brind." (Yes, her name's Brind.) He rested his chin on top of my head and patted my back.

"Je pourrais bien t'assurer que je ne m'inquieterai pas de toi mais, j'en suis pas sure qu'Hugo fera la meme." (I can assure you that I won't worry about you but, I'm not sure Hugo will do the same.)

I pushed him away and chuckled awkwardly.

"Je suis sure que Hugo trouvera un moyen." (I'm sure Hugo will find a way to.) I heard him sigh loudly and with an exaggerated tone.

"Ca y est! Vous etes tout les deux impossibles! Tu crois qu'il aura courru si vite s'il a entendu que Smithson s'est blesse?" (That's it! You both are impossible! Do you think he would have run that fast if he heard it was Smithson that hurt himself?)

"Mais oui! C'est son comrades quand meme." (Of course! It's his teammate after all.)

"Oui, c'est sa." (Sure, that's it.) Wilhelm rolled his eyes and patted me on the back before he went back into the cabin. I thought about what he said for a while. The fact that Hugo could care was hilarious, but the insinuation that he cared about me was a little far-fetched. He did reach the cabin a good fifteen minutes before the rest of the basterds did though and his lips…my palms began to sweat and my heart started racing again. I took off my jacket and set it down beside me because my skin couldn't take the sudden heat. By god, Wilhelm was right. It wasn't even the thought of him caring about me that was frightening; it was the fact that I may feel the same way.

" 'Evenin' Miss Fayait." Aldo's voice made me jump an inch or two off the ground. I picked up my jacket and turned towards him.

"Hello lieutenant, what can I do for you?"

"I just came to tell ya Utivich is all patched up and I think you ought to show the boys what you got for me today."

"Will do, sir."

The Apache nodded and merely stood by the doorframe as I got up and walked right past him into the cabin; I knew exactly what he wanted. I sat between Donny and Omar and tossed what was in my pants pocket all along in the center of the table. Donny and Omar smiled as the rest of the men stared at it.

"What the fuck is that?" Hirschberg poked at it with his index finger and squinted his eyes.

"That, Hirschberg, is a right ear cut from a genuine Nazi. Come here Isa." I looked at Aldo and spotted a hint of a smirk on his face. As I made my way towards the lieutenant, he pulled out his knife and began to polish the tip of it.

"Kneel."

I thought the whole thing was silly but I kneeled anyway. What was he going to do, knight me? The men were shouting words of encouragement and hitting the table with what must have been their fists. I looked down as he walked behind and heard his knife rip through some fabric on my back and felt his hand hold onto my left shoulder. My eyes went wide. What the fuck was he doing?

"Breathe."

I took a large breath and at that exact moment I felt the knife go into my skin. If he was giving me a Nazi branding, I would kill him. I tried to silence my screams with my fists and closed my eyes. No, I was not going to cry. Not through this. I heard the door of the bedroom open but stayed still. I felt the tip of the knife make a few lines or so and could feel the blood run down my back. Damn, it was agony. Just when I thought it was over, Aldo would make his knife go in deeper and I would twitch. Finally, he released me and took a step back. I got up slowly but steadily and held my head high in front of the men, which was incredibly difficult because my shoulder blade felt like it was throbbing. Not a tear in sight. I spotted Hugo standing beside Donny and our eyes locked. Feeling flushed, I looked immediately towards the lieutenant.

"From now on Isa, you're one of us. For the rest of your life, you'll be a Basterd and if you so much as forget, that scar'll remind you."

Donny got up from his chair and pointed in my direction.

"Now you can show me how you shoot!"

The Basterds began to laugh and I felt myself smile wide. Aldo looked at me and pulled out his snuff box.

"Welcome to the Basterds Isa."


	21. Chapter 21

As the Basterds slept on the floor in the next room, I got to sleep in the bedroom with Utivich. Mostly because Aldo thought that even though I was a Bastard, I was still a woman and deserved my privacy. Not to mention the fact that I wasn't going to leave Smithson's side now that he was awake. Just as Wicki finished inspecting the B on my shoulder blade, I ran into the bedroom and closed the door.

"Nice cut Isa, think that may be one of the lieutenant's best works yet."

Smithson slowly sat up against the headboard and smiled. He had a large piece of gauze over his shoulder covered in cloth. I ran over to the bed and put my arms around him, trying to be very careful not to touch his shoulder. He let out a small laugh as I ran my hand through his hair and looked at his face.

"I guess you're happy I'm alright."

"I'm really happy you're alright."

His eyes brightened as a smile came to his lips and I hugged him again. If Hugo hadn't gotten here as fast as he did, I wouldn't have been able to do this. The sudden thought scared me and I pulled away before I squeezed him any harder.

"You look so much better."

"Yeah, I have Stiglitz to thank for that I guess."

I nodded and picked up a piece of bread from the side table and handed it to him.

"You should probably eat something." He waved a hand to the side and shook his head. His eyelids look heavy and he yawned.

"No thanks, I'm just really tired. Did you want to talk or something?"

"I just wanted to see how you were. Do you mind if I join you in bed tonight? The lieutenant said it was okay."

Utivich smirked and rubbed the side of his neck uneasily.

"Well Isa, as beautiful as you may be I don't think I'll be up to your standards. I mean, it has been a long time since I…"

I faked a laugh and playfully pushed him to the side as he began to chuckle and threaten to call Aldo in there for harassment. He lay back down and I searched through the drawers for anything that could replace my ripped shirt. I settled on a forest green blouse and made my way under the covers beside Smithson. I leaned on my left side to avoid any pain from my right shoulder blade. After blowing out the candle on the side table, I listened to the noises dying down in the next room.

"Smithson?"

"Mm hm?"

"What are you going to do after the war?"

"Besides go home? Work with my dad probably… might even get my own place. Find a girl... What about you, what are you going to do?" I shrugged and sighed.

"I have no home." The sudden realization hit me hard and I immediately felt like crying. I didn't have any relatives alive to run to and no place to go. I felt like a twenty year old orphan. Suddenly, Smithson's hand covered mine and I looked up at him.

"You can come back to Brooklyn with me. If you want to of course. It may not be France but it's still pretty special."

At first I thought there was some kind of ulterior motive behind it but I realized because of way his hand was on mine, was nothing but genuine. Before I could even start thinking of life in America though, there was still one issue I had not resolved. I had to tell someone, if not Utivich then who? I moved my hand from below his to on top of it.

"Smithson, I have to tell you something…"

"I know, you're into Stiglitz, I just figured he'd come over seas anyways so you could-"

"What? No! It's not that!"

How the hell did everyone know about that when I didn't even know about it myself until that night? What was I doing that really gave the whole thing away?

"What is it then?" Smithson sat up and I could tell he was staring with concern. I sat against the headboard and sighed.

"I have an inheritance to collect that's been waiting for about four years."

"Why didn't you just go get it?"

"Because I can only get it if I marry someone." I ran my hand through my hair again and closed my eyes before continuing.

"I don't mind getting married but not to a man who refuses to let me write. Which sadly is most of the men I know…no offense."

It was silent for a while before Smithson let out a loud sigh.

"Well, that's pretty strange."

"I agree. I can't leave the country without that inheritance and can't collect it until after the war. Knowing what Laurent and I did, they would never let me have it."

"I was talking about seeing Stiglitz in a tuxedo but sure, that's odd too."

I shot him a death glare and carefully lay on my back. One more word about there being something between Hugo and I and I was going to lose it. I was still trying to process the thought of him perhaps being fond of me; the thought of marriage was absolutely insane. Smithson chuckled a little and lowered himself beside me.

"If you end up changing your mind though, Brooklyn is always open for ya."

"Thanks. Goodnight."

I was in the same position for over an hour and a half, watching the rise of fall of my friends chest. Sleep was not going to come easy when the constant thought of seeing Hugo with me at the altar came into my mind. I listened out to hear any of the Basterds voices and heard only snores. My life felt like it was becoming some kind of romance novel and I could do nothing but wish for some paper and a pencil. Not to mention a nice deep stream to wash my skin along with my humiliation. I sat up and lite another candle before I walked towards the basin in the corner. Luckily, Hugo had left his canteen beside it so I was able to clean off my face and arms before walking out of the room quietly. I tip toed past a few basterds and out of the front door.

"Isa! Thanks a ton for not volunteering to take first watch, princess."

Donnie was leaning against the outside wall of the cabin with a gun in his hand beside Hugo. Oh god, my heart began to race again. He nodded towards me and took the cigarette out of his mouth.

"Guten Abend." (Good evening.)

I had to tell my emotions to calm themselves and to not go into a total shutdown.

"Guten Abend Hugo. Donny I could take one of your places if you want."

It seemed as though before Donowitz could even think about it, Stiglitz was up and halfway to door. The Bear Jew raised his arms and yelled. Before he opened the door though, Hugo turned around and pulled something out of his pocket and placed it in my hands. As he went back into the cabin I sat down and looked at it. It was an empty journal and a small pencil. It was perfect. I smiled as I caressed the familiar feel of paper and hugged it. I had completely forgotten that Donny was beside me until I heard a throat clear.

"So all I needed to get to into your heart was some paper and a pencil?"

"Hm, and a brain." He pushed me to the side but I just smiled. Hugo had made me the happiest a person could be during the war with this one gift. He had given me hope and I was sure by then, that I loved him for it.


	22. Chapter 22

For over a week or so, I stayed in the cabin with Smithson while a few basterds journeyed into the town to see the amount of Nazis that dwelled there. Stiglitz was always the first to volunteer and I never had a minute alone to thank him. His sudden avoidance was a quite unsettling and it really made me question what was going on between us. Smithson didn't really have much to say about the situation but then again, I didn't really ask. In actuality, I barely looked at my large eyed friend mostly because I was too busy writing every movement I made ever since joining the basterds. I often spent hours describing the inside and outside of the cabin. When I stopped writing for a while (due to hand cramp), I asked Aldo why I was not asked to scout out the town. He took a hit from his snuff box and shook his head.

"'Cause I don't need ya to scout, I need ya to write."

"Why would you need me to do that?" The lieutenant looked at me as if he was questioning why I had asked something stupid.

"Who else here's gonna write 'bout our exploits? Definitely not Donny or Omar and I damn sure Hirschberg's never picked up a pencil in his life. Which makes you our best bet."

I tried extremely hard not to smile but it wasn't even worth it because I was beaming. I could tell that he may not have meant to, but that was a direct compliment. I stood straight and saluted him with a grin on my face.

"I'll do my best Sir."

"That was awful, gonna have to get the men to teach you a proper salute sometime. Speaking of men-" Aldo looked behind me and stood. I turned around and came face to face with Hugo. He had a cigarette between his lips and a strange look in his eyes. I felt my pulse speed up and my cheeks warm. _Not again_, I thought. I was so focused on Stiglitz that I didn't even pay any attention to Wilhelm standing beside him.

"Men, whatcha got for me?"

"The last troupe of Nazis left the town around noon and I secured rooms at the hostel."

"Superb, we leave at sundown. You know them English like to be on time." I stared at the lieutenant, puzzled.

"English? Are we meeting someone?"

"Yeah, it's all a part of Operation Kino."

"Operation Kino? What's Operation Kino?" Aldo tilted his head and pursed his lips.

"In due time Isana, you'll know in due time. Stiglitz, go help Utivich get his shit together." I cleared my throat and stepped forward just as Hugo turned around. This was my opportunity to actually talk to him before he ran off.

"_Möchten Sie etwas Hilfe Hugo?"_ (Would you like some help Hugo?)

He looked back at me, his speed quickening, and shook his head. When the door of the cabin slammed, so did my heart. On top of the painful rejection there was a steaming pile of humiliation. Did I repulse him so? Was the connection I felt with him only a week ago, a piece of my imagination? I rubbed the side of my neck and inhaled sharply before turning towards Aldo. I was beginning to feel tears weld up and a frown appear.

"You two, pack up." On his command, Wilhelm and I began walking back. Before we could reach the home, Wicki stopped me. He studied my face and patted my shoulder.

"_Sa va tu Isa?"_ (Are you okay Isa?) I nodded my head and put a wide smile on my face and tried to keep walking but he stopped me once again.

"_Tu sait, t'est pas tres bonne a cacher tes emotions."_ (You know, you're not very good at hiding your emotions.)

I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment. It almost sounded like Laurent was speaking to me then. Shrugging my shoulders, I shook my head and raised my arms.

"_Qu'est-ce que tu pense Wil? Il m'ignore comme j'ai la peste noire. Est-ce que je sonne folle?"_ (What do you think Wil? He's ignoring me like I have the black plague. Do I sound crazy?)

He raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"_Tu sonnes bien comme une fille en… amour."_ (You sound very much like a girl in…love.)

"_Evidamment je suis en amour avec lui, mais il veut rien savoir de moi."_ (Obviously I'm in love with him but he doesn't want anything to do with me.)

I slowed my breathing and finally looked up at him.

"_Que pense-tu de cela?"_ (What do you think about all of this?) Wicki patted my shoulder and smiled.

"_Je crois que vous-etes tout les deux terrible a cacher vos emotions."_ (I think that you both are terrible at hiding your emotions.)

Wilhelm and I picked up everyone's satchels and tossed them in the back of the truck. Just as I was about to climb in and sit beside him, I glanced over at the machine guns that were taken from the Nazis we killed but my eyes stayed glued to a specific gun that was away from them. I took a few steps towards it and examined it closely. It was a shotgun and the detailing on it was peculiar. I ran my finger across it and I could tell it definitely was no German gun when I read the lettering on the handle. The owner was most definitely a French Jew.

"_Liberte."_ (Liberty)

I propped it on my shoulder and walked inside to really take a look at the frames on the walls. I inhaled deeply to stop my tears when I noticed the family of five in the picture. They were standing outside and all of the children were smiling. The mother looked lovely and the baby girl in her arms was looking straight at the camera as her brother and sister stood beside their serious looking father. This was their house, at least until the Germans came and…oh god. I speed walked out of the door and into the back of truck. My mind did not even want to think of what had happened there and I could only pray that they had gotten out alive. I began thinking of the Toureaux's and wondering how Natalie and Adel were doing, asking myself if they remembered how to braid their dolls hair the way I taught them.

"_Isa, ou a tu trouve ca? C'est un beaute."_ (Isa, where did you find that? It's a beauty.) Wicki looked over the gun and nodded in approval.

"_Pres du maison, c'est Francaise."_ (Near the house, it's French.)

I watched the men pile into the truck and smiled when I saw Utivich sit across from me. The only people that weren't there was the lieutenant and Hugo.

"Smithson, where's Stiglitz?" He shrugged and shook his head.

"Don't know, last I saw he was talking to the lieutenant." Wilhelm tapped my shoulder and pointed to a patch of shrubs where I saw the men in an intense conversation. It seemed as though Aldo was yelling at him and all he did was nod and mutter a few words. I looked at Wicki with a little confusion and inched my head towards them and he just shrugged. I looked back towards them and it seemed that they were finished their conversation and were walking back towards us.

"Isa, I kinda have to tell you something…" Utivich ran his hand through his head and looked downward. Before I could ask what it was, Aldo and Stiglitz reached the truck and I cleared my throat. To my complete surprise Hugo asked Omar to move aside and took a seat next to me. He lite up a cigarette and put his arm along the side of the truck. I wouldn't have minded that, if it wasn't near my back. I felt a smile try to make its way to my face and pushed it down.

"_Also ich sehe, Sie fanden eine Pistole." _(So I see you found a gun.)

"_So sehe ich dich gefunden Ihre Manieren."_ (So I see you found your manners.)

Hugo chuckled oddly and his arm moved from the side of the truck to my lower back and I could hear my heart pound in my ears. I looked over to Wilhelm and saw his smirk widen to an extreme length. His hold was strong and had just the right amount of pressure. His fingers traced little circles through the fabric of my shirt and I shifted my body closer to his. If he didn't know how happy I was at that moment, I was sure he could feel my heart beat against his chest.

"_Ich würde gerne mit dir reden, wenn wir allein sind."_ (I would like to talk to you when we're alone.)

"_Ich möchte nichts anderes als dass."_ (I would like nothing more than that.)


	23. Chapter 23

"Where's that damn Englishman supposed to be?"

The lieutenant looked around the front room of the quiet hostel while the rest of us stood around the front window. I wasn't completely sure about staying in the town but the shotgun in my hands reassured me that if anything did go wrong, I could handle myself. I got a glass of water from the sweet elderly woman maintaining the place and found a seat at a table in the corner of the room. I wrote all of the day's occurrences in great detail. The woman seemed overjoyed to be in the presence of a fellow Frenchwoman who did not agree with the current political agenda. She also had no children that accepted to help her run the inn. When I finished I looked at Smithson and shook my head slightly. Just before we entered the building, he told me he had told someone, more specifically Aldo, about my inheritance. I knew I should not have been upset about it, after all I didn't exactly tell him to keep quiet but I felt like that was something I should have told the lieutenant. I wasn't something that he should have heard from someone else.

"Lieutenant, I think that may be him." Donny's sudden voice made me look up from my journal in an instant.

"Well, let's go greet him then."

Aldo pointed to Wicki and Stiglitz to follow him and I rolled my eyes once more. If it wasn't for the occasional sting when my right shoulder blade collided with something, I wouldn't remember that I was a Basterd. I loved to write, but I wanted to join in the important parts. How much was I supposed to write when I was only being shown bits and pieces of what really happened?

"Isa, are you sure it was okay?" Utivich took a seat at my table and looked down at his palms. How could I stay angry at that? He was my favorite after all. I patted his shoulder and lifted his chin.

"Don't worry about it, if you hadn't, I would've. He would have found out eventually." That brought a small smile to his face just in time for the return of the Apache. I put my shot gun on the table and my journal in my pocket as I followed Smithson to the entrance. There was a man behind the lieutenant who was wearing black slacks, a brown coat and a black beret.

"Everyone, this is Lieutenant Archie Hicox. Hicox, these here's the Basterds." He pointed at everyone, saying their names at the same time yet passed right over me. I closed my hands into fists in anger and gritted my teeth. _Don't lose it, don't lose it, don't lose it,_ I thought.

His gaze travelled across the room before he took a seat with removed his beret. He ran his hand through his brown locks and cleared his throat. Despite his clear snobby attitude, he was rather handsome and well-polished. He was everything I expected an Englishman would look like.

"Might I have a glass of water before we… go over the details?"

"Isa, two glasses will ya?"

Repeating my mantra, I took two glasses from a nearby stool and filled them with water from the pitcher. It took all of the control I had to place the glasses in front of them without smashing them on the table. There was no thank you, just a nod from Aldo and not a word from Hicox. I leaned against the front desk and watched them drain their glasses.

"So, we are to travel to a village called Nadine where our contact will…" His gaze shifted from Aldo to me then back to Aldo. He unbuttoned his coat and cleared his throat again.

"Lieutenant, the intel that I'm about to tell you is quite valuable. If anyone should over hear us…"

"Don't worry 'bout Isana, she's one of mine." Archie froze for a moment, seemingly confused.

"You mean to tell me you have a female basterd?" His voice sounded as if he were almost mocking the possibility of it. My mouth opened before I could even think.

"Does the situation bother you lieutenant Hicox?"

"Oh not one bit deary, I'm simply intrigued as to why a young woman such as yourself would join in such a risky plot. A situation that I dare say requires male intervention."

"Sir, I'm sure following orders is simple enough to be understood by both genders."

"Of course, it is but what I was speaking of was killing. The women I know could barely stand the sight of blood much less perform tasks meant for the other sex." My palms started to heat up and I felt anger rise through me.

"I guess that's where English women and French women differ. Anyone can kill, Lieutenant Hicox. All it takes is the right motivation.

I clenched my fists and bit down on my bottom lip_. Stupid, stupid, stupid stuck up Archie Hicox!_ I gave him a death glare and before the discussion turned into an argument, I turned to Aldo.

"I'm going to see what else this place has to offer."

"Take a few men with ya, they might wanna wander too."

I needed to get out of there before I yelled. I left the hostel with Donny and Omar and headed down the road. The little amount of people in the town was quite astounding. They paid us no mind even when their children would point to the gun Omar was carrying. The whole place looked grim and devoid of any color and it was most likely what everyone was feeling. I had no idea where I was going, but I kept going north.

"Well, that was tense." Omar laughed awkwardly and rubbed some dirt off of the handle of his machine gun.

"Damn him! Women he knows can barely stand the sight of blood? Then how in the world do they give birth to such perfect examples _conneries_ then?" (Stupidity)

"What the hell's canerees?" The Bear Jew but his bat behind his head and squinted.

"_Conneries _,Donny! Stupidity!"

"Okay, okay! Calm down for a moment." Omar patted my shoulder and I gritted my teeth. My Basterd scar may have been done a week ago, but it was still tender and he had just patted it. He saw my reaction and quickly pulled away his hand.

"Sorry Isa." I shook my head and attempted to smile.

"It's okay."

I tried to inhale the positive and exhale the negative but I was just so angry. My fists were shaking and I was walking at a quick pace. After I turned left on my seventh corner, Donny put a hand on my shoulder and I turned me around.

"You flippin' out just shows him that it's easy to get under your skin, so cool it. Come on, you need a drink."

After walking around for what seemed like hours, we found a small place pretty secluded from the street. There were small bushes around the property and a large oat door. The exterior was red brick and we wouldn't have known it was a pub if the door hadn't been open because when we glanced through it, we saw a bar and an old man behind it. Besides the geriatric, there was nobody else there which I guessed had something to do with its location. Now, you can imagine the fright on his face when two men came into his establishment with weapons. It took all of the charm I had to convince him that our intentions were nothing but good. Strangely, he understood. We may have had to leave the weapons behind the bar, but he was kind. It seemed that there was a lot more welcoming French than I thought.

"Hey Isa, get me a beer!"

Donowitz smirked at his triumph in annoyance as I brought over three large mugs of lager. As usual, we sat in the corner of the room, this time behind a pillar so we were hidden from view by anyone who might have come in. The benches were long and wooden so I sat opposite to the object of my annoyance and beside Omar. I watched my companions take large gulps of their beverage then stared at the one in my hand. When father would require mine or Laurent's presence at a banquet, he would only let me drink one glass of champagne. Besides that one glass of champagne, I had no experience in the land of alcohol. I brought the cold glass mug to my lips and tasted its contents. It was somewhat wheaty yet very smooth. There was a small hint of flavor and it felt very filling. I looked up and found both Basterds awaiting my reaction anxiously. Wiping my mouth, I smiled.

"I think I may want more."

Just looking at their large grins made me believe it was the beginning of a great night. After my third and the men's second mug of ale, Donny brought three small glasses of dark liquor to the table. My head was already beginning to spin a little and I had begun to curse at myself for drinking so quickly. I untied my hair and wrapped the piece of fabric around my wrist.

"What is it?"

"Whiskey, drink of the champs." Donny downed the liquid in one shot and exhaled loudly. Omar merely shrugged and nudged me.

"Lahium!"

Feeling left out, I grabbed the last glass and brought it to my mouth. I tried to sip it but it burnt too much. Before I could put it back on the table, Omar brought it right back up to my mouth.

"You're supposed to drink it fast. Go on, try it."

I sighed and held the glass up.

"A la santé!" (Cheers!)

I had never tasted anything that strong in my life. It felt as though I had swallowed extra hot tea and it was spreading out as it made its way down my throat. I shook my head vigorously and giggled. I could get used to this. We slowed down with the alcohol and began eating the nuts on the table. It started getting quiet and the strangest thing made me want to talk.

"I know this may seem odd to ask now but do you guys ever get scared?"

Silence ensued. Omar just kept eating nuts and Donnie quickly started laughing.

"Scared? Isa, we're the basterds. We are fear! We're strong, brave and not afraid to die. They should be the ones afraid of us."

"Are you really not afraid to die?"

"Fuck no." Omar pushed the empty bowl to the side and leaned back on his chair.

"If I die, I know I'm taking a load of Nazis with me." I kept remembering what Wilhelm had told me: 'We're all scared, we're just better at hiding it.' But I patted Omar's back anyways and smiled. I wasn't going to pry anymore.

"That's comforting. Alright, let's lighten up, more whiskey?"

The men cheered in approval but just as I was going to walk over to the bar, I heard voices coming from outside of the pub. I looked immediately at Donny and knew he had heard them too.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Heavy boots were heard hitting the floorboards of the room and my pulse quickened when I heard the language they were speaking. I snuck a look towards the entrance and inhaled before nodding at Donny's question. I moved the hair away from face and lowered my voice.

"Nazis, four of them."

"What the fuck are we going to do, our shit's behind the bar!"

"I don't know, lemme think!"

One of the German soldiers with the saddest excuse for French dialect ordered a drink as the rest of his group began insulting the barman in German. I felt bad for him and wanted to do nothing more than castrate his rude customers. While the two of basterds were arguing in whispers, a small idea came in mind. It would take a lot of patience and a serious precision but I was sure I could handle it. I came for blood and one kill was simply not enough.

"Stay put. They're mine."


	24. Chapter 24

Hi guys! Sorry for not updating last night! It was Canada day and I kind of went a bit nuts. I love the support you guys are giving me and I hope you like this new chapter! YOU ALL ROCK! – Anna

An hour and many refills of beer later, the SS soldiers began to show signs of incoherence and began laughing uncontrollably. This, in Isana's case, was perfect. Before making any sudden movements though, she listened to their conversation just in case they had any useful information.

"_Sollten wir anfangen Überschrift zu der Militärbasis?"_ (Should we start heading to the military base?) One of the soldiers laughed and punched the other in the shoulder. The man to ask the question was much younger compared to the others, Isana almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"_Warum? Vermissen Sie Ihre Mutter Röcke?"_ (Why? You miss your mother's skirts?)

"_Dies ist die erste Nacht haben wir die Messlatte für uns."_ (This is the first time we have the bar all to ourselves.)

"_Mach dir keine Sorgen, wird die Basis nicht erwarten, dass wir bis morgen früh."_ (Don't worry, the base isn't expecting us until tomorrow morning.)

The young one sighed in relief and finished his mug while one of his rude companions ordered another round of not beer, but schnapps. It seemed that must have been the straw that broke the camel's back because they young man was holding his head in his hands and the rest of them laughed and clapped each other on the back.

"_Sehen Sie in der ihm! Der Junge kann kaum handhaben Schnaps vielleicht sollte er nicht mit den großen Jungs hängen." _(Look at him! The boy can barely handle liquor, maybe he shouldn't hang with the big boys.)

It was only when the table of Nazis was contemplating on getting more liquor that Isana left the corner and walked towards the bar. With her sudden appearance the men were startled but she merely walked by them and began speaking to the barman. She could see the sweat on his forehead and knew that he was just as nervous as she was. She gave him a large smile and put her hand on his shoulder.

"_Grand-pere, tu dois etre tres fatigue, laisse-moi prendre ta place. Monte a ta chambre et va te coucher. Sort pas. Tu me comprend?"_ (Grandfather, you must be very tired, let me take over for you. Head to your room and go to sleep. Don't leave. Do you understand me?)

The old man's eyes widened but he nodded anyway and left the room, unsure if he would see the angel who saved him from humiliation. The German men merely began to smile as Isana leaned against the bar and stared at them admiringly. The young man in particular was enthralled with her long blonde hair and the way her backside looked in pants.

"_Est-ce que je peux vous amener quelque-chose les hommes?" _(Can I bring you men something?)

"_Quatre bieres, merci."_ (Four beers, thank you.) The same man looked over to his friend and muttered something in German that made Isana cringe. She had watched the sweet old man fill their glasses by pulling on a lever of some sort and it went surprisingly well. The men were staring with hunger and she began to fear for her safety until she saw their guns near the entrance of the pub. A genuine smile came across her face as she served the men their drinks. The young man's eyes were locked on her body and he must have been much too drunk or too eager when he reached out and groped at her bottom. It took Isana a little by surprise but she kept on her smile and ruffled his hair.

"_Alle Hände sind nicht Sie junge?"_ (All hands aren't you boy?)

They laughed and the only one who could speak French, barely, tried to express his apologies and offered to buy her a drink. Isana shook her head and patted his head lightly before getting behind the bar.

"_Moi je devrai vous offrir une autre verre car vous avez eclaire ma soiree."_ (I should offer you a drink because you have brightened up my night.) She hoped they liked lead.

The soldier smirked and wondered if a little groping made her night, how much he would get to do to make his night. The Frenchwoman bent down, looking as though she was looking for glasses when in fact she was adjusting Omar's machine gun. She held it below the bar and kept a large smile plastered on her face as she began walking towards the table. The young soldier expected smiled as she made eye contact with him and a large smile came across his face. Just as she was no longer hidden, Isana ran past them, lifted the gun and squeezed the trigger. She had not actually seen the damage she had done on that one night when they took her brother but she was seeing it now. Blood. So much blood. It was everywhere. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and saw that she had been splattered with it. She smiled.

"Okay, so you're not half bad with a machine gun." Donowitz was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and Omar was clapping.

"What was that Donny? I could not hear you, could you repeat that?"

"Don't push it Princess." The Bear Jew went behind the bar and set up three small glasses of whiskey as Omar and the young girl began removing scalps and right ears. Isana put her trophies and a cigarette box she found on one of them in her pocket, grabbed one of the glasses and tossed it back with much more ease.

"Gettin' a little ballzy are we?" She took the two other glasses and drained them dry in one swallow before slamming them on the wooden counter top.

"You could say that."


	25. Chapter 25

Hugo Stiglitz was beginning to feel quite uncomfortable in the wooden chair he was sitting in, mostly because he kept shifting to the side to avoid sleep. Hicox had explained the whole plan more than three times and Hugo was tired of listening to it. Especially not when all he wanted to do was break his jaw for what he told her. Just as he got into the whole part of them meeting Bridget Von Hammersmark, Hugo tried to put sentences together in his mind that he could tell Isana that would explain his distance lately. Aldo had made it clear to Hugo earlier how he felt about the whole thing.

"Stiglitz, what's goin' on with ya?"

"Nothing sir."

"Bull shit. You're a terrible liar. Why're ya ignorin' the girl, Hugo? She's obviously crazy 'bout you, god knows why." Stiglitz smirked a little and shook his head.

"I don't know lieutenant. I just… don't want to hurt her."

"Well, do ya like her?"

_More than anything you could imagine_, he thought. Yet all he did was nod and keep his eyes to the forest.

"Answer me, use your words damn it."

"Yes."

"Well then tell 'er. Now I'm no big fan'a this but I do think you should straighten this out. If you both got them sweaty palms and horse racin' hearts whenever the other's near, well, that's somethin' that shouldn't be overlooked."

Hugo often thought of the lieutenant's American expressions as humorous but hid his smirk. He merely nodded and muttered a 'yes sir' or two.

"Whatcha afraid of?"

That question really bothered Hugo because there was much he was afraid of. He was afraid of losing her, to see disappointment on her face like he had with his ex-wife, to break her heart…All he wanted was her to stay in his arms and to keep her safe. That was another reason he couldn't have her, she was a distraction.

"I want ya to talk to her and sort this out so she's not sulkin' around lookin' heartbroken all the time 'cause you won't play with her."

With that, the lieutenant walked away towards the truck and Hugo had no choice but to follow. He was right. Hugo knew very well that he was right. He had to let her know how he felt before Operation Kino went any farther and even more dangerous.

He shifted in his seat once again and wondered if the rookie had cooled down yet. As soon as she came back, he would tell her. He would tell her everything. When Archie had finally finished explaining the plan, there was a loud throat clearing from behind him. He had been so distracted that he didn't even hear the trio enter the room but it seemed everyone else had. His eyes settled on Isana and he felt an inch of pride. She was splattered with blood so much her blonde hair looked orange and her cheeks were rosy. By the way she was holding onto Donny and Omar for support and the way she stumbled, he could tell she had quite the time.

"Lieutenant! I have a few gifts for you." Her voice definitely gave away her drunken state but still she walked up to table on her own and placed four ears on the table before Aldo. Hicox stared at the gifts and shook his head as a smile appeared on his face. Hugo saw a hint of a grin on Aldo's face before he took a hit from his snuff box.

"How is that for a mere woman lieutenant Hicox?" Archie took a sip of his water and nodded.

"Damn good, I must say."

"Of course it is! Do you have anything else to say?" Stiglitz couldn't help but gloat with her as the man before him admitted defeat by apologizing.

"You must excuse my previous behavior, it is only that I'm not used to being in situations such as these ones with a woman. I'm sorry if my statements may have offended you."

"Well Lieutenant Hicox, I accept your apology." She put her hand on his shoulder and patted his head. Aldo blamed Donny and Omar when she started hugging him.

"Next time, don't go to a damn bar."

Hugo wasn't sure if he should find it odd or laugh. The lot of them enjoyed watching her stumble around the room, giving strange comments on whatever surrounded her. The only time Stiglitz had laughed; she had whipped her head around and stared at him. She pointed and started walking towards him quickly. He wasn't sure what to say or do so he stood up quickly and pushed the chair to the side. She stopped an inch away from his face and stared up at him. The entire room went quiet and all eyes were on the two of them. She was so close that he could feel and smell the alcohol on her breath. Their lips almost collided when she reached in her pocket and put something in his hand.

"_Nichts zu danken. Genießen Sie, meine Liebe."_ (You're welcome. Enjoy, my love) Hugo felt his face heat up a little but put the packet of smokes in his chest pocket anyway.

"_Danke Isa. Kommen Sie, Sie müssen schlafen."_ (Thank you Isa. Come on, you need to sleep.)

He put an arm her shoulders and held her to him, making sure she could move much before he brought her up the cracking wooden steps. He had to get her upstairs before she made any more of a fool of herself. Was this how she cooled down after a disagreement? He walked slowly down the dark hallway and chose the room in which he would be sleeping. It was small and had only enough space for a small stool and a mattress, but it was enough. After getting Isana to lie down, Hugo sat on the stool and shook his head. He couldn't possibly talk to her when she was like this.

"_Hugo, sollen wir redden."_ (Hugo, we should talk.)

"_Am Morgen."_ (In the morning.) She raised her arms and sighed loudly.

"_Nein! Jetzt! Wir sollten redden jetzt!"_ (No! Now! We should talk now!)

"_Selbst wenn man sich an nichts erinnern in ein paar Stunden?"_ (Even if you don't remember anything in a few hours?)

"Ja!" (Yes!) Stiglitz lite up a cigarette and shook his head slightly. He couldn't believe she was as stubborn drunk as she was sober. She moved to the side and patted the empty space next to her.

"_Komm!"_ (Come!)

Declining would have solved nothing because the young woman would only yell louder until she got what she wanted, which gave Hugo no choice. The emotions that the sergeant was feeling were almost too much for him to handle. Isana leaned into him and laid her head on his chest. His heart began to thump quickly and his breathing was uncontrollable. He put out his cigarette in fear of burning her.

"_Was wolltest du mir sagen?"_ (What do you want to tell me?) Hugo sucked in a breath and closed his eyelids. His heart tightened once more and he knew it was time. This is it; just tell her, he thought.

"_Die Wahrheit ist ... Ich mag dich und ich hoffe es gefällt mir auch."_ (The truth is… I like you and I hope you like me too.) He waited for a response but all he heard was silence. When he opened his eyes and looked at her face, he sighed because she had fallen asleep. He put his arm around her and held her. Well, there's no harm in practicing, he thought.

"_Eigentlich war das nicht wahrhaftig genug. Ich bin in dich verliebt. Ich liebe dein Lächeln, deine Augen Ich liebe. Alles an dir. Wenn du mir die Chance geben, ich bin sicher, ich könnte dich glücklich machen. Ich würde dir in allem zu unterstützen, vor allem das Schreiben. Und ich bin sicher, du liebst mich genauso viel, aber ich wollte nicht, Sie zu verletzen. Ich dachte, wenn ich ignoriert, was wir haben, sie wäre besser dran. Was Mir war nicht klar war, dass ich uns beide zu verletzen. Es tut mir leid, ich wollte nur zu ersparen uns beide ein gebrochenes Herz."_

(Actually, that wasn't enough; I'm in love with you. I love your smile, I love your eyes. Everything about you. If you give me the chance, I'm sure I could make you happy. I would support you in everything, especially the writing. And I'm sure you love me just as much, but I didn't want to hurt you. I thought if I ignored what we have, you would be better off. What I didn't realize was that I was hurting both of us. I'm sorry; I just wanted to save us both a broken heart.)

He knew she couldn't hear a word he was saying, but Hugo felt much better that he had at least said what he needed to say out loud instead of repeating it in his mind. He moved a few strands of her hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. At that moment he felt her snuggle her head into his chest and her delicate fingers on his shoulder had tightened.

"_Ich liebe dich Hugo, warum sollte ich schon immer mal Ihr Herz brechen?" _( I love you Hugo, why would I ever want to break your heart?)

Hugo Stiglitz's heart loosened and his breathing came back to normal. He had never wanted anyone or anything so bad and thanks to her few words, he could allow himself to have her. Without even thinking or hesitating, Hugo held her face to his and kissed her full lips with all of the caged passion he had. This was a way he never felt with Gretchen and he had never been so overwhelmed with such bliss. He did not know much about it but he knew he was damn sure not letting it go.


	26. Chapter 26

Hello everyone! This is it! The final chapter! I would just like to say that it was fantastic writing something that could be enjoyed by many. In all, every one of you IS AWESOME.

-Anna

_Two years later…_

"Isa! What in tarnation's are you doin'?"

"Just give me one more minute lieutenant!"

I pressed the buttons on the typewriter with such agility that I could barely stop myself. I was only an inch away from finishing my newest short story about a woman's path to discovery. _Done_, I thought. I sat back in my leather chair and grasped the armrests as I thought about my father sitting in this exact chair. I looked around the large study and smiled. It was exactly the same way that I had left it and it was mine. Three walls full of books, two liquor cabinets and two leather couches. I was home. Sure, it had cost a pretty large amount of coin to get it back but in a minute or so, I wouldn't need to worry. I took out a box of cigarettes from the left drawer and lite one up. I had taken it up after we left for Nadine to calm my nerves and it stuck to me. I looked over at a book on my desk and ran my hand over it. I had published it. My adventures with the basterds were now available for everyone to read. I was proud and I hoped Laurent was too. Suddenly, the large oak doors to the room opened and the lieutenant appeared in a tuxedo with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Dammit Isa! They're already playin' the damn weddin' march out back. Now I don't care if you're in the middle of little Timmy fallin' in a ditch, you best get out there."

"One more thing!"

I put out my cigarette and picked up a bottle of lavender to rub on my neck and my wrists just as I walked over to the mirror beside the lieutenant. I pinned my blonde hair into a bun and adjusted the white lace dress that I had purchased especially for this day. It was cutting off circulation in certain places but it fit well enough. I put on my veil and inhaled as I looked at the baseball bat in the glass case that I was probably going to have to give to the lieutenant when he left. I wished the Donowitz was near, then I wouldn't have been so nervous.

"You're pretty alright, let's go."

Aldo took my hand and brought me past the foyer, through the kitchen and out of the door into the garden. I had to stop to take in the most beautiful sight I had seen in a long time. Every flower was blooming and the sun hit the whole environment seemed to glow. I began to fall in love with my soon-to-be husband all over again. He had planned everything perfectly. I felt my heart quicken with the thought of being in his arms once again. The music began to get louder the closer we got to the area. Just as we were about to reach the arch, the lieutenant stopped to look me over. He grabbed a purple orchid and lifted my veil to put it behind my ear.

"Now you're perfect."

"Thank you, Sir."

He kissed my forehead and held my arm under his own. As Aldo walked me down the aisle, I looked to the people standing beside the chairs before me. It had taken quite a lot of work, but I had found the Toureaux's after the war. had been shot just as they were making their way out of the forest and I couldn't think of anything better to do than invite them to live with us. I looked at the ground and smiled at the flower petals beneath my feet. I gave my flower girls Natalie and Adel a thumbs up and looked to my other guests: The basterds. They were all dressed in their best attire and had smiles on their faces. Hirschberg had the goofiest look on his face and I couldn't help but laugh at it. Finally, I reached my fiancés side and the lieutenant released me. He tapped the priests shoulder and whispered something in his ear. I was too occupied by staring at my love's face to even care. He had the brightest smile on his face and though he was not able to properly see it, so did I. After saying our vows, it had surprised me that he had planned something to say.

"Isa, we've been through a hell of a lot but no matter what happened, we stayed together. You helped me through some tough times and I'm hoping to do my best by helping you out of yours."

He paused for a moment and exhaled. I felt tears begin to weld up in my eyes. He was talking about those two nights in Nadine. It was nights none of us wanted to remember, particularly me. When Hugo, Wilhelm and Lieutenant Hicox entered the basement to meet their contact Bridget Von Hammersmark, they never returned. I tried to seem tough by cursing all Englishmen, but, Utivich knew me too well. As soon as I heard Donny and Omar's plan, I shut myself down. When we were finally finished with the war, he not only supported me but he helped me publish my story about the basterds. When I bought the house back with the royalties, he stayed with me and little by little I felt a lot better. Until I realized when he left that it wasn't his comfort I wanted, just him. Apparently he felt the same because only a few months had passed before I found him at my doorstep again.

"The only thing I want to do is be your light in the dark and the glue to fix your broken heart. Because, I love you."

The priest thanked him and asked me if there was anything I'd like to say and I nodded immediately. I hadn't planned to say anything, but I decided to wing it.

"Smithson, you are not only my light in the darkness, you are the sun of my day. Those nights, we lost some very important people. At times, I thought I would never get over the losses and that I would die of grief but you stayed. You stayed with me throughout everything and we supported each other and even though at times I still think of our friends, I am more than happy to be with you. I love you, much more than you'll ever know."

He held my hands in his and kissed my knuckles. I could practically feel his happiness sink in. We said our 'I do's" and exchanged rings. When he slid the small golden ring onto my finger, I smiled.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss your bride."

He lifted the veil from my face and I looked up at Smithson Utivich and closed my eyes. His lips were soft and the kiss was delicate but fulfilling. I was quite impressed. Suddenly Aldo took out a bottle from under his chair and wrapped a cloth around it before placing it at my husband's feet. With the crack of the bottle, came the crack of my grief. There was not one day that I did not think about Hugo and what he meant to me. First loves aren't easily forgotten, but I did not want to forget him because I knew he was watching over me as I walked down the aisle with my new husband. He was smiling along with Laurent and above all, my father. In fact, I was pretty sure the old fart was handing out celebratory cigars.


End file.
